Sweet Sixteen
by ShadesOfGreen84
Summary: A slightly different Jericho, one that involves Jake having a daughter.
1. Chapter 1

His head leaning against the bulkhead, Jake opened his eyes to the sparkling Pacific Ocean below him. He reached down to massage his calf muscle, trying to work the cramp out. He knew he should get up and stretch it out, but looking over at his sleeping neighbor, he decided against disturbing him.

Finally the spasm passed and Jake could check his watch. Seven a.m. Just another couple hours until he was back on American soil.

"May I get you something to drink, sir?"

Jake looked up to see the flight attendant holding a coffee pot invitingly.

"Black, please. Full lead."

She grinned and poured a cup for him. "Anything else?"

Shaking his head, Jake thanked her. He pulled his seat tray down and placed the cup on it. His PDA and a thick file labeled Kagawa—Tokyo joined his cup. Scraping his hair back from his forehead, Jake powered up the PDA. He still had to finish the arrest report on Akio Kagawa, and the letters of condolence for the families of two of his men. He wondered what the official details of their deaths would be. Too bad their families would never know they'd died in another country. Or that they had died in the course of taking down one of the biggest crime lords in the last quarter-century. That honor would be given to the CIA. Jake's team had been contracted just to gather the proof to make the case. Nothing more. Small comfort to the wives and children left in the dark.

Jake stared at the net results of the last nine months of his life. As soon as he landed in LA, he wouldn't even have this much for proof. The firm had a courier waiting to receive his report and files when he landed. The sooner he submitted his final report on the Tokyo assignment, the sooner he'd be out of a job.

Jake had just finished his mission report when the captain announced they'd be landing in Los Angeles within the half hour. Replacing the folder and PDA in his briefcase, he removed the single non-work item from it. A teenaged girl in a coat smiled out of the photograph. She was standing a little sideways, her arms spread to showcase the lit Christmas Tree on the far side of the Rockefeller Ice Rink. Jake smiled at the memories of their last visit.

A flicker of dark blue caught his attention. The flight attendant was walking the aisles on her final call. As she passed him, Jake handed her his empty cup. Reaching for it, her eye caught on the picture.

"Pretty girl," she said. She looked at Jake for a moment, then back at the picture. "Let's see, she's what? Fourteen? So I'm guessing she's your sister."

"No, my daughter."

"Daughter? Wow, I had totally pegged you at like 27."

Jake laughed. "I'm a few years older than that."

"Well, I'd better get back to work. Let me know if I can get you anything else before we land."

Taking advantage of the hour layover at LAX, Jake had finally changed into jeans and a t-shirt. Debating carefully, he folded his slacks and stuffed them into his carry-on. After a bite of breakfast at one of the over-priced restaurants he was ready for the two and a half hour flight to Denver. There he'd get his car from the storage lot and head for home, finally.

* * *

Looking through the open back door into the kitchen, Jake saw his mother at the stove, fixing lunch for her family. As quietly as he could, he opened the screen door. The creak of the spring gave him away, just as it always had. Gail turned around, and immediately forgot about dinner when she laid eyes on Jake. Tears clouded her voice as she reached up to hug him.

"Jake! Honey! Oh, you're home!"

"You're choking me, Mom" he said, laughing, as he tried to ease air back into his lungs.

"Thought I heard an annoying voice!" Eric said from the hallway. He stepped forward to greet Jake.

Looking over Eric's shoulder, Jake saw his father come in from the living room. They looked at each other for a moment; then Jake stepped into Johnston's welcoming embrace.

"Glad you're home, son."

After Eric and Johnston returned to Town Hall, Gail sat Jake down at the kitchen table with a glass of cold milk and a plate of freshly baked cookies. She took the chair next to him and waited. Jake tried unsuccessfully to keep the grin off his face.

"Don't laugh at me."

"I'm not laughing at you, Mom. I know what you're trying to do."

"And what exactly would that be?"

"Cookies and milk could make me spill my guts when I was five. I'm not so easy to crack now."

"Fine, you caught me" Gail admitted. "But you can't blame a mother for trying. At least tell me how long you plan on staying."

"I'm home for good, Mom" he says, stuffing a cookie into his mouth.

Gail watched as he polished off the four large cookies and his milk. When he finished, he picked up the plate and the glass dishwasher, rinsing them before he placed them in the dishwasher. She noted the changes in her son; he certainly wasn't the headstrong boy she'd raised. Nor was he the determined young man that had accepted responsibility for an unexpected child sixteen years ago. The last five years he'd been on special assignments had tempered him into the man she never thought he'd be. Even though he didn't talk about his work to her, Gail knew it was far more stressful than he allowed. He needed to remember why he chose to save the world every day. She was grateful that he had been able to spend time with Elizabeth during the summers and last Christmas. And she was grateful that he was home in one piece.

Feeling his mother's eyes on him, he turned around to face her. Another grin danced across his face.

"How long are you going to stare at me?" he said jokingly.

"Sorry. It's just… I've waited for this day for five years and now you're here. I just wish you had warned me. I would've made sure to have something more for dinner than spaghetti."

"Mom, it's no big deal. I love your spaghetti."

"So, did you tell Elizabeth you were coming home?"

* * *

"97? Geez, I study my ass off and the best I can do is a 78." Danielle complained.

"Math comes easy to me," Elizabeth replied, shrugging. She kept an eye on the clock over the teacher's head as he droned on. These last few minutes of the day were always too slow.

"Yeah, that and every other subject we're studying" the boy sitting in front of Elizabeth said, turning around to face her. Before she could answer him, the bell finally rang, signaling the end of the school day. They gathered their books to head for the door and the freedom of the weekend.

"Ms. Green, can I have a word with you?" the math teacher, David Cutler, asked as she passed his desk.

Her friends gave her their usual commiserating looks as they kept going. Elizabeth arrogantly leaned against a desk in the front row. She knew she'd have to wait until the stragglers had left and Cutler had erased the boards lining the interior walls. Hell, she could probably even deliver his lecture for him. It wasn't like it ever changed. When the room was empty, Mr. Cutler turned to face her.

"I wouldn't be too happy with that 97 if I were you. Attendance and participation do count for 20 percent of your final grade."

"School has only been in session for two months and I haven't missed a single day of your class. And I never missed one of them last year, either," she shot back.

"Participation includes giving me your undivided attention during class. Nor does it leave room for you to fall asleep in my class on a regular basis. This, let me remind you, is the same problem we had last year."

"It would only be a problem if my grades were slipping. Last time I checked, a 98 average in this class still falls in the near-perfect range."

Realizing that the argument was futile, Mr. Cutler said, "I will be speaking to your father about this. Today."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes, saying "What else is new?"

"Just because your father is mayor of this town does not give you special privileges. I'm not going to ignore your clear disregard for this class."

Elizabeth had had enough. "Can I go now?"

"No. I'm not finished yet."

She sighed and shifted against the edge of the desk.

Ten minutes later, Elizabeth finally left his classroom. She couldn't believe Cutler. No, actually she could. For the past three years he'd insisted on comparing her to her older brothers. He was just like everyone else in Jericho, waiting to see the baby Green fall from grace.

Eric had always been the golden boy in school. He'd never made any trouble and had been voted 'most likely to succeed.' She got that one. She and Eric were only barely on the same planet. But to equate her to Jake, Jericho's bad boy? C'mon, he'd raised more hell than even Grandpa in his day. The old biddies downtown still clucked their tongues over Johnston Green's wild son, even though Jake had straightened himself out before she was born. There was no way she'd ever get away with half the crap he'd done.

Outwardly she didn't let anyone realize the constant comparisons bothered her .Secretly, she wished she could say the magic words that would get them all to stop. She knew part of Jake's biggest secret, something too big to even tell Mom and Dad. Too big for anybody, according to Jake. And he placed a lot of faith in her to keep what she knew safe. She wanted to tell everyone about the lives her big brother had saved, the terrorist attacks he'd thwarted, the evil men he helped arrest. But he trusted her to keep quiet. And if there was one person's trust she didn't want to lose, it was his.

Still, she often found herself wondering what it would be like for the town to see him as the hero he had become. Maybe, she hoped, one day they would. And on that cold day in hell, maybe they'd see that she really wasn't as misguided as they all thought she was.

Danielle was waiting for her by the locker they shared. "So what the hell did Cutler want this time?"

"Same thing as always. To compare me to the reckless and disrespectful teenaged Jake." Elizabeth answered sarcastically.

Next to her, Michael Donovan was rummaging through his disorganized, messy locker. "Didn't we have history homework?" he mumbled.

"Yeah, we have to read the chapter on the French Revolution and answer the questions on the worksheet." Elizabeth replied, stuffing textbooks into her backpack before closing her locker door.

"C'mon, Mike, maybe if you cleaned that locker out every once in awhile you could find all your books." Jordan Casey teased as he moved close to Elizabeth and gently pushed her back against the lockers. The reason quickly became clear as the football team walked five abreast down the hall, on their way to make their grand exit.

"Why can't I ever remember my homework?" Michael muttered again, still digging through his locker.

Elizabeth took pity on him. "Look, I have all the books we need. Let's just head over to my house and get everything done. That way, none of us has to be bored doing it by ourselves and we'll have the rest of the weekend free."

* * *

Across the street from the High School, Jake sat in his car, waiting for Elizabeth to come out. It had been twenty minutes since the final bell rang, and he was starting to think he'd missed her. He was reaching to turn the key when he saw her in the middle of a crowd of students. She was laughing at some remark the boy next to her made. It brought a smile to his face to see her happy.

Exiting the building, Elizabeth found herself surrounded by a crowd of students; who had suddenly appeared as if from nowhere. Jordan's hand slipped from hers when a large senior shoved his way between them. Danielle glared at him as he brushed past her, and then continued their conversation.

"So, are you sure you don't need me to bring any food to your party?" she asked.

"Yeah. I think we're all set. My mom…" Elizabeth stopped, noticing an unexpected car parked at the curb.

"Yo, Liz, what is it?" Danielle asked.

"That looks like Jake's… but it can't be," she said. A moment later, the driver's door opened and Jake stepped out to lean his arm on the roof of the car. He grinned when she stopped in her tracks in shock.

"Jake!" she shouted, now running toward him.

He wrapped his arms around her in a bear hug. He decided against lifting her off her feet and swinging her around as he had only last winter in New York. _'Damn, when'd she grow up?'_ It wasn't a question of height, but more of how she carried herself.

She punched him in the arm. "What are you doing here? You didn't tell me you were coming home."

"I wanted to surprise you. I know it's a day early, but happy birthday, El"

Elizabeth led the way to her room carrying the sacred plate of Gail Green's homemade cookies. Her friends followed, each with their glass of milk, Jordan carrying Liz's for her. Dumping backpacks on the floor, they spread around the small room, within reach of the plate now installed on the corner of the desk. Danielle claimed the papasan in the corner by the window, and Michael the remainder of the desk. Liz and Jordan took the bed, leaning against the wall.

"Your mom's the best," Danielle said, taking a bite out of her cookie.

"Yeah, she makes the best cookies," Jordan agreed, his mouth full.

Michael looked at him, a disgusted look on his face. "Ew, man, that's gross. Don't talk with your mouth full."

"You sound like my mother," Jordan complained, stuffing the rest of the cookie in his mouth. He got up and walked to the desk. Offering both girls another cookie, he took it for himself after they declined.

Finishing her milk, Elizabeth set the empty glass on her nightstand. Scooting off the bed, she retrieved her backpack. Upending it over the bed, she snagged her math stuff, and pushed the rest against the headboard.

"I guess we better get started. Although I'm tempted to just say screw it." Absolute silence followed. Turning around, she saw her friends looking at her. "What?"

"I never thought I'd hear you say that. I mean, you're not a geek or anything but…" Danielle trailed off.

"I'm just so fed up with school. I do the homework and pass the tests. But it's boring. Maybe _not_ doing homework would liven things up a bit."

"Yeah, or give Cutler a real reason to be on your case" Michael said, reaching over for his backpack.

"Well, if you're going to do the time…" she shrugged.

"He's a jackass" the other three said in unison, putting everyone into hysterics.

Next door, Jake found himself chuckling at the conversation coming from El's room. Obviously the kids were long-time friends. If he remembered correctly, Michael and Jordan had been in El's kindergarten class. That field trip to Topeka had been good for them, in the long run, giving them a chance to really see how true friends stick together. They had that easy familiarity of friends who knew each other well. He remembered sharing that kind of closeness with someone from his school days, but that was long ago now.

He'd also presumed he was going to have to start keeping his car locked in the garage now. As soon as he'd suggested driving all of them back to the house, the shotgun battle had been hard-fought. El had emerged victor only because of nepotism. Now that she would be getting her license, he'd have to make sure she could handle a real car.

He tossed his empty carry-on into his closet, and shut the door. Tomorrow, he'd start looking for his own place. It was past time to settle down. And Jericho really wasn't too bad, now that it was entering the twentieth century. Maybe he could sell Mom and Dad on letting El stay with him.

* * *

During dinner Gail gave him the rundown on the big news, Emily's upcoming wedding. Obviously, Emily had stayed on good terms with his parents after he left. He'd tried to be there for her after her brother's death, but she had insisted on blaming him for events he couldn't control. The final straw had been when he'd been relocated as part of his new assignment. He still missed her; but she'd been dead-set on staying in Jericho, and he hadn't had a choice. Now she had moved on, and was to be married in a couple months. Jake tried to be happy for her. She deserved some stability in her life, after everything that had happened.

Looking over at Elizabeth, Jake raised an eyebrow and nodded toward the front door. With a grin, she gathered up her dishes to take them into the kitchen. Johnston noticed this exchange and cleared his throat to get her attention before she could disappear.

"Before you and Jake head out, we need to talk about the visit I had from Mr. Cutler today," he said.

Elizabeth had caught her dad glancing at her throughout dinner but had hoped he wouldn't bring up the subject until after her birthday.

"Yeah, I know, Dad." Elizabeth moved back into the dining room. "But I'll bet he neglected to tell you that I got a 97 on my test. Or that every day he's on my case about something."

"That he did." Johnston conceded. "But that's far from the point."

"It is the point! He never tells you the whole story. He just wants to make me look like the bad guy!" she argued.

"How many times are we going to have this conversation, Elizabeth?" Johnston asked.

"I don't need this lecture again" she said, standing up. She grabbed her dishes again and started to walk out of the room.

Gail jumped in now. "Elizabeth Grace Green! You do not walk away when your father is talking to you".

Elizabeth stiffened at the command. She turned around to face Gail.

"You will sit down and keep your mouth shut."

"Okay, geez" Elizabeth said, sitting down. "But just so you know—"

"What part of sit down and keep your mouth shut do you not understand?" Gail questioned.

Elizabeth was angry but she knew better than to open her mouth again.

* * *

Elizabeth sat silently in the passenger seat of Jake's car as he drove out of town and toward nothing. Jake figured she was still upset because she hadn't tried to shift the radio station away from the President's address. Her attitudes about school concerned him. He'd been down this road and knew how easy it would be to crash and burn. If he was going to be around now, he'd have to get up to speed on the teenager sitting next to him. _Sooner started_, he thought.

"So, are you finally calm enough to tell me what that was about?"

"Oh, sure. David is a chauvinistic, egotistical asshole who can't stand the fact that I could teach the damn class better than he does."

"El!" he exclaimed, surprised by her spiteful words.

"What? It's true. Besides, I wouldn't fall asleep in his class if I had been allowed to test out of it. Can I help it if I'm bored?"

"First off, whether it's true or not does not give you the right to call him an asshole. So, please, watch your mouth. Second, it's Mr. Cutler, not David. And, third, why weren't you allowed to test out?"

"Because David's a bastard who convinced Mom, Dad, and the principal that there was no possible way I could test out of it. The only person who actually believed I could was Eric; but, obviously, his opinion didn't matter."

"Stop with the name calling! Even though he may very well be all those things, he's still an adult and you need to show him some respect." Jake said, still astonished by her arrogant attitude. He suddenly understood every 'talk' he'd had with his father about school. Elizabeth sounded just like he had when he was fifteen.

He admitted to himself that she did have a point. Obviously the man had not changed since Jake and Eric had been in his classes. The school myth had it that Cutler had failed miserably teaching at college level so he'd come to Jericho as a replacement for old Mrs. Albright when she died. Cutler had given up on himself and now just taught what a farming community needed.

"I thought you at least would understand my point." Elizabeth said, disappointed at Jake's reaction. Eric had actually gone down to the school to talk to Cutler when he found out she wasn't going to be allowed to test out of the class. It hadn't helped, unfortunately, but at least he'd made an effort.

Jake sighed. "I get the point, El. I agree, you should've been allowed to take the test. But you need to learn how to work with what you have, not get angry and throw a fit. That doesn't work for a child, and it certainly doesn't work for an adult. If you want, I'll go see Mr. Cutler on Monday. Maybe I can get him to let you move into the Calculus class. If he agrees, I'll help you get caught up on the material you've missed."

"Yeah, like he'd really listen to you," she muttered under her breath, just loud enough for Jake to hear. Before Jake could ask her what she'd meant, the radio signal cut out. Elizabeth started fiddling with the tuner, trying to find another station as Jake turned left onto another road. Coming out of the turn, Jake's eyes were drawn to the mushroom cloud on the western horizon. It seemed to be coming from Denver.

Elizabeth sensed his distraction and looked up to finally spot it. "What the hell…"

Returning his attention to the road, Jake suddenly cut the steering wheel hard to the left, trying to maneuver out of the way of the car now headed directly at him, in his lane. He heard the sickening pop and crunch of impact and felt the car spin out as he lost consciousness.

* * *

Back at the Green house, Johnston sat upstairs in his home office. Gail had sent him up here to take care of the bills. She didn't need to know that he had done them at the office earlier. He was simply content in being alone with his thoughts. And a lovely shot of thirty year old Scotch.

He didn't show his family just how much Jake's return home meant to him. His outward reaction to seeing Jake standing in the kitchen, helping Gail make dinner, was one of nonchalance, but inwardly he couldn't be happier. He and Jake had once been close; it was only when Jake entered high school that they started butting heads. Gail claimed it was because Jake was the spitting image of his father; their inherent stubbornness usually got the best of them. He'd never admit to it, but she was right. Even if Jake's stubborn streak was greater than his.

Eric, on the other hand, was far less bull-headed, which had made him easier to get along with. Johnston had always secretly hoped that Jake would be the last of the Green's to inherent his stubbornness. But every day Elizabeth reminded him that it had been passed to her.

When Elizabeth had been a child, Johnston had seen Grace reborn. Elizabeth had been an easy child to care for, with discipline and determination many adults lacked. She'd excelled in her lessons; and was a favorite at the Hall, where she was often found, helping everyone, after school.

Now that she was older, she had continued to follow in Grace's footsteps. But she had also integrated some of Jake's stubbornness and pride. The combination of intelligence, over-confidence and ego were proving difficult to handle this time around. Especially during the last few years. Her mouth had started to get her into trouble more regularly. Jimmy had brought her home in the middle of the night a few times after she had successfully sneaked out of the house. Often it felt like living with a time bomb—without the countdown timer. He just hoped he never got a phone call in the night from the office telling him they'd had to put her in lockup. She had been in trouble before. Her file at the sheriff's department contained records of stolen candy bars and sodas from Gracie's Market. Nothing serious, just the basic trouble that all bored adolescents consider necessary as a right of passage in their teenage years. She hadn't ventured into anything too serious. Not yet.

He knew Mr. Cutler meant well and he understood his concerns. They were the same concerns he'd once expressed about Jake. He understood Mr. Cutler's frustration with Elizabeth's arrogance, but Johnston also knew that her arrogance rose from the fact that she was bored, unchallenged even, with the class. He should've listened to Eric three months ago when he had come to him, supporting Elizabeth's desire to test out of the class. But still, the girl needed to learn that she couldn't speak to Mr. Cutler the way she had. She needed to learn to bite her tongue when it was necessary. Johnston hoped that Jake, now being home, would be able to witness Elizabeth's day to day behavior and would be able to get through to her.

"Johnston?" he heard Gail yell from downstairs. Recognizing a hint of distress in her voice, he rushed down the stairs to see Gail kneeling in front of Jimmy's son Woody, who had tears running down his cheeks.

"Gail, what is it?"

"Oh, Johnston…" she said.

* * *

Jake coughed, and opened his eyes to stare at the car's headliner. The throbbing pain in his head prompted him to sit up. Catching himself on the steering wheel as his head swam; he automatically placed a hand on his temple. There was a cut there, probably from hitting the steering wheel. He shifted his attention to the gash in his left thigh. Not serious, but definitely painful. Remembering he wasn't alone in the car, he looked over to the passenger seat. Elizabeth, unconscious, leaned against the window. A thin trail of drying blood made its way down her left cheek, starting from a small gash above her eye.

The sight of her still, seemingly lifeless, body scared Jake. His pain vanished as the adrenaline kicked in. He searched for a pulse, finally finding one. Much slower than it should have been, but there nonetheless.

"Elizabeth! Wake up, babe!"

He unhooked the lap belt and pushed his door open. Rushing around to the passenger door, he yanked on it; ready to catch her and keep her from falling. Once Jake could reach in, he unhooked her seat belt and pulled her out of the car.

"C'mon, El, baby. Wake up!" he pleaded, tears falling unheeded down his cheeks.

Laying her carefully down on the road, he rechecked her pulse. Partially reassured she was still alive; Jake examined her for other injuries. The only one he found was a caused by a large piece of glass sticking out of her leg. Since the glass was keeping her from bleeding too badly, Jake left it alone. He pressed one of his hands against the cut on her forehead, in an effort to stop the bleeding.

"El! Elizabeth! Wake up!"

Keeping his hand on her face, Jake closed his eyes and offered up a prayer to the God he'd avoided for so many years. "Dammit, God. Don't you dare do this to me!"

Elizabeth shifted under his hand. Fear turned to relief as she opened her eyes, thoroughly disoriented. Her hand met his by her eye, to feel the blood still flowing. Then she grimaced in pain, struggling to sit up. Jake helped her up, supporting her from behind. Realizing Elizabeth was looking at the glass imbedded in her thigh, Jake caught her hand before she could touch it.

"We should leave that alone for now, baby. If you shift it, you'll start it bleeding. Wait until the paramedics get here."

"What paramedics? Do you have a phone on you?"

Jake was already reaching into his jacket. "Shit! I turned it in. Where's yours?"

Elizabeth waved toward the car. "Back seat, in my coat."

Making sure she was balanced, Jake stood up to look in the car. Reaching in, he snagged the coat and pulled her phone out. Dead air came from the opened connection. Tossing it back into the car, he looked over at the other car. Nobody moved inside.

"Elizabeth, stay there. I have to go check on them," he said, as he started limping over. Reaching the passenger side, he pulled open the door to check the woman's pulse. Finding none, he looked at the driver. The blank stare confirmed neither had survived. He closed the door and limped back to Elizabeth. He shook his head at her silent question. Kneeling down at her side, he looked at her.

"We're going to have to head back to town." He took off his jacket and the sweat jacket underneath. Pulling his pocketknife out, he sawed the sweat jacket into strips. "I've got to pull that glass out and try to wrap your leg so it won't bleed too badly. Look over at the car, not at me." He reached out to grip the glass, ready to pull. "Ready?"

Elizabeth pushed his hand away. "Here, let me do it."

Yanking the glass out of her leg in one swift, excruciating motion, Elizabeth sucked down the scream in her throat. She tossed the shard aside. The sound of it smashing on the road hit her in the gut. The quiet tinkle echoed in her mind until all she could hear was the breaking glass of bus windows.

"El! Hey, stay with me, El." She opened her eyes—_'when had they closed?'_—to see Jake looking scared now. He had tied a couple strips around her leg, including one high up on her thigh in an attempt to slow down the blood loss.

"There was a bomb." She reached for another strip to clean the blood off her hands.

Jake looked confused at the statement. "Yeah, I think so. It was pretty far away, though. Look, we have to get going, okay? I can't leave you out here alone."

Elizabeth took the hand he offered. With Jake braced against the car, she was able to pull herself up. Jake swiped at his face, making the mess worse, while he checked her leg. It looked like the tourniquet would help for a while.

Pulling his jacket back on, he asked, "Ready?" At Elizabeth's nod, they started back down the road.

* * *

They walked along the side of the road hand in hand. Jake had tried to get Elizabeth to talk, to let him know how badly her leg was hurting, but she kept shutting him out. The only contact she'd allowed was his hand. She just kept walking, following his lead. The childish obedience was so unlike her; and it scared the hell out of Jake. But there was nothing he could do about it now. His priority was to get them medical attention. He knew his head was spinning from a concussion, and he knew if they stopped they wouldn't make it home tonight. If at all.

"Mister! Help!" Jake stopped and tried to find where the small voices were coming from. Turning to face the road they were passing, he spotted two small figures at the crest of the hill. Jake led Elizabeth at a staggered run to meet the kids. When they recognized Elizabeth behind Jake, they ran to meet her.

"Elizabeth!" the kids shouted, clinging tightly to her. "Help us, please!'.

Hearing their voices brought Elizabeth out of her trance. Looking down, she recognized two of Heather Lisinski's students. _'What are they doing way out here?' _Dropping Jake's hand she knelt down to look at them. "Lucas! Julie! What's wrong?"

Julie started crying, but Lucas answered her. "I think, I think they're dying."

Elizabeth looked up to Jake, terror in her eyes. "Lucas, who? Who's hurt?"

"The bus driver and Miss Lisinski," he managed between gulps of air.

Julie spoke up now, still crying. "We were on our field trip to the caves. But the bus broke down on the way home, and Miss Lisinski had to find somebody to fix it. Then this deer ran beside us and then the bus crashed, and now everybody's hurt. Miss Lisinski told us to go down this road to find someone to help us, and we found you!" She buried her head in Elizabeth's side again.

"Show us where the bus is" Jake said. Elizabeth stood up as Julie took her hand. Lucas led the way back up the road. Jake hoped it wasn't too far away. The sun was setting and they would lose the daylight soon.

When they reached the bus, headlights still shining, the kids slowed down. Lucas' flashlight beam bounced light off the bus' grill and rested on the deer under the right front wheel.

Julie spoke up again. "It just went crazy, running all over the road."

"Alright, just don't look at it," Jake told her, trying to assess the situation. Jake led them into the bus hopping up the steps on his good leg to check on the driver. Elizabeth, moving to shield their view of the deer with her body, urged Lucas and Julie to follow him. Elizabeth painfully made her way up the stairs, stopping on the last step to see who else needed help. Heather was sprawled on the first seat, her left leg propped up. She was looking over at Jake and the driver.

"Heather! Are you hurt?" Even with the crappy interior lights, Heather was looking very pale.

"Is he alive?" The question was directed at Jake.

"Yeah," Jake answered quietly as he turned to look at Elizabeth's friend. "You okay?"

"Yeah. But I…I think my leg is broken." Heather's voice was laced with pain.

"Can you feel your toes?" Jake glanced back at Elizabeth as he took his jacket off again.

"Yeah. Don't worry about me. Worry about them."

It was only then that Jake remembered the bus was carrying students, He knew from what Julie had said that there were other kids on the bus, but he'd forgotten while checking on the driver and the woman.

"Anybody hurt? Anybody?" Jake called out.

A boy in the back of the bus raised his hand. "Stacy's sick. She can't breathe."

Using the seatbacks to support himself, Jake moved to Stacy's seat. Elizabeth followed at Heather's urging.

"What's wrong?" Jake asked as he got close. Looking down at the little girl, he saw her clutching at her throat and wheezing. "What happened?"

"When the bus stopped she was like this." Leaning against the back of Stacy's seat, the boy blanked his face, letting his eyes bug out a little, holding his breath.

Jake looked back down at Stacy. She was getting more and more scared, making it even harder for her to breathe. Jake tried to reassure her.

"It's okay, Stacy, Let me see. Just let me see it." Continuing to talk to her, he gently pulled her hands away from her throat, to see the massive bruise.

Jake called to the teacher, "Do you have an ice pack? We gotta stop the swelling now." He needed to work fast before the swelling cut off the air supply to her lungs.

She thought for a moment, then told Lucas, "The first aid kit is under the seat. " She indicated the seat behind the driver. He grabbed it and brought it to Elizabeth.

Jake kept talking calmly to Stacy. "It's alright, just breathe. Breathe normally, alright? It's okay. You're fine."

Elizabeth opened the kit and grabbed out the chemical ice pack for Jake. Snapping it, Jake gave it a second to activate, then laid against Stacy's neck.

Stacy tried to talk. "Please…it..."

"Calm down." Stacy's eyes drifted closed and she stopped breathing. "Hey, Stacy. No, no, no…" Jake leaned over trying to hear her breathe. Nothing. Jake tried to think what to do next. Not liking it, he decided he'd have to open a new airway below the bruise.

Catching Elizabeth's eye, he called out.

"Alright. Look, I need everyone's help right now. Who has a pen? Does anyone?" He looked back to Elizabeth, to see she'd guessed what he needed to do. "Does anyone have a pen? I need a pen!"

"We have pencils" Lucas says.

"No. I need a tube. Something hollow," Jake told the boy.

"What about a straw?" Elizabeth asked. "The kids usually bring juice boxes with their lunch. Would a straw work?"

"Yeah. That'll work…:" he trailed off. The straw Julie had brought him was too narrow. "El, that's too small. We need something bigger."

"Um…" She thought quickly. "What about several? You know, grouped together?"

Jake looked relieved. "Okay, does anyone else have a juice box? Give your straws to Julie. El, use the band-aids to tape them together to make a bigger tube."

Leaving Elizabeth to manage that, Jake looked in the kit for some alcohol. He needed to sterilize his knife and Stacy's throat. When the girls had the tube ready, Elizabeth told Julie to go back to her seat.

Jake looked at her seriously. "I'm going to need your help, hon. Reach over and hold her down, in case she wakes up. She can't move while I'm trying to open her windpipe."

Elizabeth's eyes widened and she started to look scared again. Somehow, she won the battle inside, and nodded to him.

"Okay, kids, close your eyes. Nobody look. El, you ready?"

With a deep breath, Jake carefully felt for the ridge of Stacy's trachea, and pushed the knife's blade in. When he felt it cut through, he pulled the blade down to lengthen the slit. As soon as he had enough room, he took the tube from Elizabeth and pushed it in. He breathed slowly into the tube, hoping the air was going into Stacy's lungs. Counting to five, he blew again. And again. After the third round, Stacy's lungs took over. Her wheezing breath was wonderful to hear.

Elizabeth's tears rolled unnoticed down her face. She stroked Stacy's hair as she opened her eyes. Letting Jake fall back into the opposite seat, she came around to hold Stacy's hand and keep her calm.

A few minutes later, after he'd caught his breath, and the kids had settled down again, Jake returned to the front of the bus with Stacy in his arms. He laid her down in the seat behind her teacher.

"How is she?'

"We need to get her back."

With Elizabeth's help, he moved the bus driver onto one of the back benches. She urged the kids to sit closer to the front as he settled behind the wheel with a groan of pain. With a deep breath and crossed fingers, Jake turned the key in the ignition. Fortunately the bus turned over and Jake backed away from the deer. Shifting back into drive, he carefully maneuvered the bus up onto the road and continued to town.

Jake fought to stay conscious. He knew it was because of the concussion and the adrenaline finally leaving his system. He looked in the mirror at Elizabeth, hoping she could keep him focused enough to get them safely to town. Instead, he saw she'd withdrawn again. Her eyes looked inward, and she didn't move. She never noticed when one of the boys jostled her. Really frightened for his daughter now, Jake tried to coax more speed out of the bus.

Five miles from town he started to sweat. Looking over to the teacher, he asked very softly, "Does this bus have a gas can?"

She shrugged an "I don't think so."

"The bus…if it stops…"

She understood what he didn't say. Turning to the kids behind her, she told them how to get help if the bus stopped again. Elizabeth never even reacted.

* * *

Jake stood in El's doorway, watching her sleep. He knew he needed some as well, but the day's events still had his nerves buzzing.

"Son, you better pray your mother doesn't find you out of bed."

Johnston stood next to Jake. Jake just managed to control his reflexes and glanced at his father. Johnston hadn't flinched when Jake startled, so he must have guessed how tightly strung he was. But it had been a stupid move to approach him silently.

"What are you still doing up, Dad? You've had a long day too," Jake tried to shift the conversation away from what he suspected.

"I told your mother I'd take first shift checking up on you. 'Course, I'd thought all I'd have to do was look for you in your bed." Johnston wasn't taking the bait.

"I can't help it. I'm worried about her. It took her so long to wake up after the accident and then she went away while we were walking. I know she came back when we found the kids, but, Dad, I'm scared. She's acting shell-shocked."

Johnston started to interrupt, but Jake pressed on. "Yeah, I've seen soldiers from the front lines, Dad. Please don't ask, I can't tell you why."

"She's going to be okay, Jake. That's how she deals with things."

"April should have checked her better for shock."

"Jake, son. Trust me. She's okay. Besides, she's been through worse."

"Worse? What are you talking about?"

Johnston put a hand on Jake's shoulder before stepping toward the staircase. "I really think she needs to be the one to tell you. But trust me; everything will be okay."


	2. Chapter 2 A

Elizabeth's leg still hurt, even with the extra aspirin. She could easily have slept a few more hours, but instead she was up at the crack of dawn, as per usual. She finished pouring the fresh coffee into two mugs as Johnston ambled into the kitchen. Heading for the table, he chose an apple out of the wicker basket in the center as he sat down. Elizabeth placed a mug in front of him, grabbing a banana when she joined him.

"Happy Birthday, sweetheart. I didn't really expect to see you up this early."

Sending a smile his way, she said, "Thanks. Seriously, Dad, not even the apocalypse is going to keep me in bed."

Johnston smiled, taking comfort in this little piece of normalcy. Both he and Elizabeth were early risers and this ritual allowed them an opportunity to spend a little time together every morning, just the two of them. Some days they read the paper together, talking about current events or debating some important topic. Other days they worked the crossword. During the last few re-election campaigns, Johnston had occasionally used their mornings to run his speeches by Elizabeth. Often it was the only time they saw each other- especially during the election and track seasons. They'd vowed to never let anything interfere with their morning routine; not even the flu. Even when Elizabeth visited Jake in New York last Christmas, she had spent "their" hour on the phone with him.

"No, I wouldn't expect it would. I just figured you might want to rest your leg after last night."

"And miss our morning time? Not happening." Giving a little snort, she continued, "Besides, now that Jake's back, we'll probably only get a half-hour alone."

"Speaking of Jake…"

"Yeah. I scared him yesterday, didn't I?" Elizabeth interrupted as she went to toss her banana peel in the trash, and fill the toaster.

"He's never seen you like that," Johnston said, taking a sip of his coffee. "I told him you'd be okay; that you've been through worse."

Leaning back against the kitchen counter she stared at her feet. "Should I tell him about Topeka?" she asked, a hint of panic in her voice.

"Well, honey, we've talked about this. I think Jake needs to know. But it's not for me to decide what you should do."

"Yeah. I'm just scared the nightmares will come back" She turned away to put the hot toast on a plate. Putting the plate on the table, she took the top piece for herself. She took a bite and chewed for a moment. "You know what I was thinking? I was thinking that if Topeka had never happened, then we wouldn't have our ritual. So—in a way—it was kind of a blessing in disguise."

They sat in silence, finishing their toast. Swallowing the last of his coffee, Johnston stood up, taking Elizabeth's empty mug with him. At the counter he refilled both mugs. Jake limped into the kitchen, trying to smooth down the tuft of hair on his head that insisted on sticking straight up. He looked even worse now than when he'd gotten off the bus, dried blood covering his face. Johnston wondered how often he'd looked that haggard after a sleepless night watching over his son.

"Good morning, son."

"Morning, Dad. Hey, happy birthday, El." Jake replied, dropping into another seat at the table. "You're up early."

"You know I'm always up this early," Elizabeth shot back.

"So, what have you two been talking about?" he asked, stealing a sip of coffee from Elizabeth's mug. She started brushing bread crumbs into her hand, clearly avoiding the question. The move was not lost on Jake. He glanced at his father.

"We were just talking about where we wanted to go on our walk this morning, weren't we, honey?"

"Yes" she replied. "And I think we should just walk; see where we end up."

Elizabeth reclaimed her coffee cup from Jake for one last mouthful. Relinquishing the cup to Jake with a teasing grin, she took the plate to the sink to rinse it. Glancing at his prize, Jake tilted his chair back to reach for the coffeepot.

"I'll meet you out front, Dad," Elizabeth told Johnston on her way upstairs. "I'm just going to get my jacket."

Jake waited until Elizabeth was out of earshot. "Dad, I don't think going for a walk is a good idea after last night."

"She's fine, Jake. She can handle a little bit of pain" Johnston answered.

"I'm still worried about her. You have no idea…"

Johnston held up his hand, interrupting him. "Son, if I know anything, it's just how much a father worries. You never stop worrying about your kids, no matter how old they are." A slight smile appeared on Johnston's face. "Even when they're thirty-two years old and are out there saving the world, facing God knows what kind of danger."

Surprised by his father's comments, Jake tried to explain himself: "Dad, I…"

"When your mother wakes up, tell her we went for our walk, and that I'll stop by the Medical Center to see her later" Johnston said, walking out of the room.

* * *

Jake rushed back inside the Medical Center, looking for April. Spotting his mother heading toward him he called out, "Mom, where's April?" 

"Jake, where have you been?"

"Where is she?"

"She's down the hall. What's going on?"

Ignoring her question, he brushed past her and kept limping down the hall, looking into every open room. He found April a few doors down the cross-hall, securing a brace around Heather's leg. Gail stopped behind Jake in the doorway.

"April, does the clinic have a fallout shelter?"

Puzzled, she answered. "Yes. What's going on?"

"It's bad. Come on." She takes him to look at it, leaving Gail with Heather.

Heather spoke first, concerned. "A fallout shelter? Why would he need to know about a fallout shel—"

Realization flashed across her face. She swung her legs off the exam table, and reached for the crutches leaning against the wall.

Gail hadn't seen Heather's face. "I don't know. Jake has this tendency to not explain himself," she replied. "Here, let me—"

Noticing the younger woman's confident handling of just one crutch, Gail didn't finish her offer of help. "Let me guess. This wouldn't be your first time on crutches."

The grin on Heather's face said it all. "Nope. Haven't needed them for years now, but I had my share of injuries in school. Mostly from soccer."

"Soccer, huh? Did you play any other sports?"

Heather nodded. "Yep. But soccer and track were my forte."

Heather and Gail stepped out of the exam room, heading toward the front desk.

"Speaking of running… by any chance, has Elizabeth told you why she quit the team this year?"

Elizabeth sat in the rocking chair in Stanley's living room, lost in her thoughts. The pain in her leg had gotten a lot worse. By the time she and Johnston had returned from their short walk, Jake had shifted fully into worry mode. Something bigger than a nuclear bomb was bothering him. Despite his urging, she had stubbornly refused more painkillers; not because she didn't need them—she did—but because she didn't want to give him the satisfaction of winning the argument. After Jake finally headed back to the Med Center, Dad had driven her out to Bonnie's house. She was pretty sure she wouldn't be getting her license for a while. Now she sat here, heartily wishing she had capitulated and taken the medicine.

* * *

Hearing the screen door slam closed, Elizabeth looked up to find Stanley smiling down at her. She gave him a grimace in return as he sat down next to her. 

"Happy birthday. So, how does it feel to be sixteen?"

"No different than fifteen. Although I'm allowed to date now, so—"

"—so now you don't have to hide in my barn to make out with Jordan Casey" he finished for her.

She blushed, ashamed at being found out.

"Hey, don't worry. I won't tell your dad this time. Or even Jake," he said, trying to lighten up the conversation. He could wait to talk to her about what he'd seen in his barn a few nights ago. Now that Jake was home, at least for a while, Elizabeth would find it harder to slip away with Jordan.

"What the hell does Jake have to do with it? Dad's the one who said I couldn't date until I was 16, not my brother" she asked, sending a confused look Stanley's way. "He's back, you know."

"Yeah, I was there when you guys pulled up. The whole town is talking about how he saved that little girl."

"Yeah, he was quite the hero. Good thing he knew how do that…" She stared off into the distance, remembering the previous night.

Elizabeth was sure Jake had assumed the worst about her while they'd headed back to town. She knew she had. Pulling that glass out of her leg had brought back the memories. Then seeing the couple in the other car, dead…It had been too much. Her brain had shut down, trying to keep itself protected. All she could remember during the walk was saying to herself, _̀'not again, not again'_…Thank God the bus had still been upright when Lucas and Julie led them back. Somehow, she'd managed to hold on to her sanity enough to help Jake. Jake had treated her like a grownup, not his baby sister, when he'd needed her help. That feeling of being trusted had felt good.

"Yeah" Stanley agreed. Emergency surgery and bus driving, just another couple of Jake's unexpected skills. Someday he was going to write out the list, if only to keep it straight. Maybe not, since Jake _didn't_ have a job that required such a broad range of knowledge. "Hey, when did he get into town?"

"I don't know. I guess around lunch, since he picked me up from school. Man, he was so tired from his flight."

"Flight from where?"

"Japan" Elizabeth said without thinking. She gasped when she realized what she just said. "Crap. I don't think you're supposed to know that."

"My lips are sealed" Stanley assured her, trying to curb some of Elizabeth's guilt.

The front door opened again and Bonnie walked in with her berry baskets. Elizabeth and Stanley waved to her as she headed to the kitchen. Placing the baskets down on the table, she came back to greet Elizabeth.

"I need to get some things done, so I'll leave the two of you to get the house ready for your party." He broke into a grin and made a muscle. "Unless you need my mighty biceps to help lift things for you." He stuck out his other arm in a ridiculous "strongman" pose. Both girls rolled their eyes at him.

"Don't be an idiot, Stanley" Bonnie said out loud. Stanley, faking a hurt look, turned and stomped out to his truck, causing the girls to laugh at him through the screen door.

* * *

While Gail and Heather dealt with Heather's discharge paperwork, Jake returned, concern evident in his face. He approached the women to take his mother's hand. Leading her back down the hallway, he prepared himself for an argument. Still, he had to try. Keeping his voice low and calm, he told her about the storm coming in from Denver and the shelter's condition. Then he asked her to pick up Elizabeth and head to Town Hall. Feeling her tug him back, he turned to look at her. 

"Jake, I'm not going anywhere." Gail searched his face, trying to gauge how bad the situation really was.

"Mom, I'm not going to argue with you." He glanced around to see if anyone else could hear him. "Go to the other shelter."

She shook her head. "I'm staying."

"Mom! I don't even know if we can fix it." His eyes were starting to look desperate. "And I can't concentrate with you here. Get Elizabeth, and go to the other shelter. Please. I'll be fine." As she continued to look at him doubtfully, he tried again. "I'll be fine. I'm worried about Elizabeth."

"Honey, she's not even home. She went to Stanley's."

"She's at Stanley's?" he repeated. "Yeah, he's got a storm cellar; she should be safe there." He'd rather she was at Town Hall with his parents, but Stanley had always taken care of Elizabeth as well as he did Bonnie. Jake knew his friend wouldn't let him down. "Okay, Mom, just go. Please."

Gail realized there was no arguing with her son, so she reluctantly agreed to head to the other shelter. She hugged Jake and left. Relieved he now had one less person to worry about; Jake leaned on his knees and let out the breath he had been holding.

"Is there anything I can to help?" Startled, Jake looked up to see Heather's concerned blue eyes.

"You know anything about ventilators?" Jake asked, turning to head back down to the basement.

"…and I think he might like me too" Bonnie told Elizabeth, giggling, as they grabbed the firewood and headed back along the porch to the front door. "Stanley doesn't like him."

Looking seriously at the older girl, Elizabeth replied, "Stanley's not going to like any boy you go out with. It's like part of the big brother code or something. Jake and Eric are really on my case too, you know."

Coming around to the front of the house, they discovered Emily Sullivan standing at the door with a man dressed in a Jericho sheriff's uniform.

"Miss Sullivan" Bonnie said, "What a surprise."

"Hey, Bonnie, Elizabeth."

"Emily," Elizabeth said, not happy to see her. Before Jake left she had idolized Emily. But when Chris died, Emily had changed. Elizabeth still didn't see how Jake was to blame for Chris getting shot.

Ignoring Bonnie, Emily, even the strange man with her, Elizabeth focused on the scene. Emily and the officer were in front of her. The patrol car was parked next to the fuel tank, another uniformed man standing at the open trunk. She didn't recognize either man as a member of the Sherriff's Department. Nor could she shake the feeling they were trouble. Something about the man at the car unnerved her, especially the way he kept looking around. As much as she didn't want to speak to Emily, she knew she would have to somehow let her know that these men weren't who they pretended to be.

"Hey, kid." The older man forced Elizabeth's focus back to the conversation at hand. "Come inside with the rest of us." He held the door open, waiting for her. Following him, she walked into the house and headed to the fireplace. There she dropped her armload of wood into the rack.

"So, we'll just use your pump and be on our way" the younger man said in a friendly way as he closed the door behind him.

Bonnie looked up from straightening the wood. "Stanley has the key."

Confusion replaced the smile on his face. His intense eyes moved from face to face. "What did she just say?"

"Oh, her brother Stanley. He has the key to the pump" Elizabeth explained.

"Wait a minute. She's deaf?" The question came from the other man as he turned around in the kitchen.

"Yes." Bonnie replied, following Emily's glance around. At his dumbfounded look, she explained, "I read lips."

Emily moved towards the girls, trying to block the man's view. "When do you think Stanley gets back?" Emily asked, looking at Elizabeth and Bonnie.

"Another hour. He went…" Bonnie started.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. What'd she just say?" the younger man interrupted, rather rudely.

"She said it's going to be an hour." Elizabeth was losing her patience now. It wasn't all that difficult to understand Bonnie's speech.

"Oh. We can wait an hour, can't we?" The older man walked back across the living room toward his partner. Elizabeth looked between Emily and Bonnie, hoping to catch their eyes. Instead, both of them watched the men whispering together. Emily looked worried.

Bonnie noticed it too. "Miss Sullivan, are you alright?" The men stopped talking to look at them. Emily tried to laugh it off.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm just hungry."

Elizabeth caught the hint. "Why don't we make some food for the officers," she suggested.

It seemed to work. The older man's face lit up. "Oh, I want eggs. It's a farmhouse. You've got eggs, right?" He led the way back into the kitchen at Bonnie's invitation.

Emily looked again at Elizabeth, and shot a quick glance to the far wall, where the couch sat. As the second man approached, Elizabeth followed her hint, noticing the display sitting on the sofa table; including the heirloom handgun that had belonged to Bonnie's grandfather.

"Hey, why don't we all go make something to eat," he broke in, ushering them in front of him to the kitchen. Elizabeth answered Emily's raised eyebrow with a slight nod.

They joined Bonnie at the counter and started preparing eggs and bacon for the officers. Bonnie moved to join Emily at the stove, but Elizabeth stopped her with a touch on the arm.

"Bonnie, I'll help Emily here. You should get the officers something to drink, okay?" At Bonnie's surprised look, Elizabeth looked down between their bodies and quickly signed 'be quiet' and 'danger' while indicating the men behind her. Bonnie's eyes widened as she stepped back to join the men near the sink.

Elizabeth and Emily turned toward the stove and started frying the bacon and eggs. When she thought the men were ignoring them, Elizabeth casually shifted her hands to catch Emily's attention. Looking over her shoulder to make sure the men were still distracted by Bonnie, she caught Emily's eye and signed the words 'trouble' and 'gun'. Emily nodded, mouthing "I know."


	3. Chapter 2 B

Standing at the stove in Bonnie's kitchen, Elizabeth and Emily worked in silence for a few minutes, trying to figure out a way to get help. Emily caught Elizabeth's attention and signed surreptitiously that she would try to get the gun. Once she had it, she'd let Elizabeth know. Then it would be Elizabeth's turn to get alone so she could run to the next farm to get help. Her leg still aching, Elizabeth agreed. Even injured, she was the best runner here.

Turning so Bonnie could read her lips, Elizabeth asked, "Bonnie, can you come help me?"

Emily turned around to join in. "Here, I'll take that tray into the living room for you, Bonnie." Looking over at the men, she smiled. "Maybe one of you would like to help me pour the coffee?" Taking the tray with the fresh pot of coffee from Bonnie, Emily led the older man into the living room.

Bonnie joined Elizabeth at the stove. Making sure the second officer had returned to scanning the yard through the window; Elizabeth quickly told Bonnie the basic plan in sign. She turned her attention to sliding eggs onto a serving plate.

"What about your leg?" Bonnie asked.

The man at the window turned his attention back to the girls. Shooting a warning glance at Bonnie, Elizabeth grimaced.

"Yeah, it's really beginning to hurt again. I guess the Advil's beginning to wear off." Elizabeth eased her weight off her sore leg, favoring it more than was necessary. Looking over to him, she shrugged. "I was in a car accident yesterday. These fools were looking at the explosion, and rammed right into the car. I'm gonna sit down for a while, Bonnie, okay?"

While she'd been talking to Bonnie, she had signed simultaneously. The silent dialogue told Bonnie that she would be fine; that it was the only way. She left Bonnie to finish cooking the food. Moving a chair to the kitchen table, she sat down to rest her leg. Her spot at the table placed her in the perfect position to look through the doorway into the living room.

She watched Emily work her charms on her mark. Elizabeth was pretty sure he hadn't expected to be flirting with a beautiful blonde today of all days. If Elizabeth hadn't been watching out of the corner of her eye, she would have missed the jerk of Emily's hand causing the coffee to spill over his arm. Struggling to hide the grin on her face, Elizabeth leaned over to rub her leg before she stood up. Two limping steps brought her to the cabinet on the left side of the sink. From it, she pulled down a stack of plates to hand to Bonnie to fill. As she did so, he came back into the kitchen holding his arm.

"Ooh, that looks bad. Here, let me help you" Elizabeth offered, meeting him at the sink. She turned on the faucet and stuck his arm under the cold water. Using everything she'd learned from Drama last semester, she projected concern about his injury for all she was worth. If she hadn't been buying Emily a few more moments, she would have probably never offered to help.

"What happened?" the younger man asked as he stepped closer to the sink.

"She…I burned my hand" his partner replied.

"Hey, Bonnie, can you get the first aid kit?" Elizabeth said. Looking back to the burn, she continued. "We should probably bandage this. I can put some burn cream on it, too."

"No, it's okay. I'll be fine" the older man argued. The younger man agreed, then turned and headed into the living room to check on Emily. He escorted Emily back into the kitchen where she once again apologized to the injured officer.

Even though she would never publicly admit it, Elizabeth was impressed with the way Emily had handled herself in the living room. 'Accidentally' spilling the coffee had been priceless. Though she was sure Emily hadn't had enough time to get the gun out of the display, Emily's slight nod when she returned to the kitchen told her she had been successful. Now it was up to Elizabeth to do her part.

When the food was ready, they brought it to the dining table; Elizabeth dragging her chair from the kitchen. Catching Emily's eye, Elizabeth set her plate down. "I'm going to go to the little girl's room" she said.

"Hey, where is that?" one of the men asked.

"Right upstairs" she replied, pointing up the staircase. At the top of the stairs, she looked back down to see Bonnie looking concerned. Elizabeth smiled at her; then stepped across the hall into the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Leaning against the sink, she closed her eyes and breathed for a minute. She knew this was going to hurt like hell. But it had to be done. Willing herself to ignore the pain to come, she opened the window, and climbed out onto the roof of the porch. Lying down on the shingles, she eased to the edge and looked over to make sure her landing was clear. The drop was only a couple of feet. She let herself slide over the edge of the roof, feet first, until she was hanging from her hands. Sucking in a mouthful of air, she let go of the roof, knees flexed to absorb the impact. Straightening up, she ignored the pain more, and ran.

Jake climbed the stairs as fast as his leg would let him, passing some kids from town. He turned to look at Shep again.

"I don't know. It's a mine. You have dynamite, right?" Jake turned to look at the opening's support beams.

Behind him he heard Gray protest, "Whoa! Wha-No!

Ignoring Gray, Jake pointed out the best locations to place the charges to Shep. "We put charges here, here, here… "

Gray interrupted again. "Are you crazy? How do we know we won't bring the whole thing down on us?"

Jake turned around to stare at Gray. "We don't. But we don't have time for anything else. That storm is nearly here, and this has a good chance of success."

Shep and Gray just looked at him. They didn't know where their demolitions man was. They'd have to take their chances Jake knew what he was talking about.

None of the men noticed that two boys had stopped to listen to the plan.

"What's taking that kid so long?" one of the officers asked, getting out of his seat. Emily looked at Bonnie as she stood up, blocking the man from walking past her to the stairs.

"I'll go check on her. She's been sick the last few days" Emily said. "We've had a nasty flu bug going around the school." Bonnie nodded in agreement.

The officers looked at them, then each other. The standing officer started to move to the stairs again.

Bonnie spoke up: "She was throwing up all week. We thought she was better."

He waved at Emily to go check as he returned to his meal.

At the top of the stairs, she knocked on the bathroom door and called out, "Elizabeth? Are you okay?" Waiting a moment, she opened the door and slipped inside.

"Are you sure I can't help?" Jordan asked Jake for the thousandth time. Looking away from the charge he had been setting, Jake fought the urge to drop kick the teenager into next week. Jordan had been a flat-out pain in his ass ever since he and Shep had started setting the charges. At least Michael had listened when Jake told them to get their butts into the main room. But now he was standing next to Jordan again, tugging on his arm. Maybe he'd been trying to get Jordan to come with him.

Jake closed his eyes and willed his fist to relax. "How many times do I have to tell you to head inside?" Jake asked the boys. He knew Shep was watching him, ready to jump in if he lost his cool.

"Jordan Casey and Michael Donovan!"

Jake barely managed to avoid jerking around like the boys. Looking behind himself, and down further than he expected, he saw Heather just starting down the stairs on her crutch. She flashed him a quick smile as she stepped down again, to get a direct line of sight on the two troublemakers.

"I don't think you're going to like it if Mr. Green has to tell you again. You leave them alone and head inside now. Do you understand me?"

Mr. Rennie had already told them to leave Jake and Shep alone, but now Liz's teacher friend was on their case. Mortified, they disappeared down the passageway before anyone else heard them get yelled at by one of the elementary school teachers.

Grinning after the boys, Jake turned his attention to Shep. The boys were immediately forgotten when he saw how much dynamite Shep had placed on his truss. "Hey, hey, hey. Take some of that out, alright? Seal the entrance, not cause a cave-in."

Shep pulled out about half the original amount, nodding to Jake. Jake continued to watch Shep as he set the cap and cord. Returning to his wall, Jake finished securing his charge.

Heather stopped to catch her breath halfway down, and looked up to actually see what Jake and Shep were doing. "Hey, where'd you learn how to do that?"

Jake took his eyes off his work for a moment to glance at her. "Knew a guy once."

"Did you blow him up?" she returned, eliciting a laugh from Jake. Out of the corner of her eye, she caught Jordan peeking around the corner of the shaft again. Jake followed her glance, but before he could yell at him, Heather started down the stairs again.

"Jordan! What part of get back inside do you not understand?" Jordan rolled his eyes and gave up. Heather stopped when she got to Jordan's spot, startled by the crackle of the walkie-talkie she had just passed.

Jake heard it too. He signaled for quiet. "What was that? Did you hear that?"

"Somebody's on the radio," Shep offered.

"This is Emily Sullivan. I'm at the Richmond ranch."

Heather watched Jake hunker down on the beam to listen. He seemed to know Emily from the concerned look on his face.

"Everybody, be quiet!"

"There are men here with guns. I think they might have killed the Sheriff. Hello?"

Jake jumped down onto the stairs to grab up the unit. "Emily! Emily, can you hear me?" he shouted into the radio. His face was growing more afraid as Heather watched. Letting the radio drop away from his mouth, his next words just barely reached her ears. "Oh, God! Elizabeth!"

He leaned against the wall; then turned quickly to Shep. "Shep, give me your keys!"

"Jake, it's going to start raining any minute now."

Jake reached over for the detonator's components. "Give me your keys. I can make it!" Catching them, he raced up the stairs, Gray following.

Elizabeth wasn't sure how long she had been running. With two good legs she could run a mile in just under six minutes. But it was impossible to keep track of time when every step sent more pain up her leg. Instead, she counted each step; starting over whenever she lost count.

The pain, coupled with the looming thunderstorm, made her want to turn around, to head back to the house, to find a corner to hide in. _'It had rained that night…' _A storm was definitely not what she needed after last night's flashbacks. She pushed the memory and the pain to the back of her mind and kept running.

Some time later, she heard tires crunch to a stop. Looking over her shoulder, Elizabeth noticed the trail the truck had left in the gravel when the driver spun it out to stop behind her. Jake climbed out from behind the wheel of the pickup. Stopping, she tried to brace herself before collapsing to the ground. The pain in her leg threatened to overwhelm her before she could tell him about the men.

"Jake! You have to get to Stanley's. There're men there… they have guns!"

Squatting down next to her, Jake took her hand. With his other hand on her back, he helped her to her feet.

"I know. That's where I'm going," he replied as he helped her into the truck. He closed her door and ran back around to the driver's side. Getting in, he stepped on the gas, letting the truck slide a little in his hurry to finish his turn. "How many men did you see?"

"Two. They're dressed as deputies." Elizabeth sprawled back against the headrest, wincing at the stabbing pain in her leg.

"What were you thinking? Running with your leg the way it is?" Jake demanded.

"We needed help!" she retorted. She took a few deep breaths in an attempt to control the pain. "Wait, why are you here? Whose truck is this?"

"I heard Emily over the radio asking for help. What, it didn't occur to either of you that running on your leg would make it worse?" Jake sounded really upset.

Shrugging she tried for a flip answer. "It seemed like a good idea when Emily and I planned it." Teeth clenched around the pain ruined the effect.

Catching El's shrug, he let it go. They were nearly back to the ranch and he needed to focus. Pulling out the gun Gray had tossed him, he verified there was a bullet in the chamber and the safety engaged.

"Look, when we get there I want you to stay in the truck while I check things out. I'll let you now when it's safe again. Okay?" he said, looking over at her. Her eyes fixed on the gun, she nodded. Good, maybe she understood the seriousness of the situation now.

Jake pulled up at the bottom of the driveway and stopped the truck. Leaving it in neutral, he told Elizabeth to slide into the driver's seat. If he yelled at her to drive, she would need to get to town as fast as she could and get Dad. Trying to keep low, Jake ran to the big tree behind the produce stand, checking out the scene as he did so. Peering from behind the tree, Jake saw Emily standing by the open trunk of the patrol car.

The sound of the screen door crashing open drew his attention to Bonnie running for the road, a man chasing her. The man ran along the porch and, dodging the bullet meant for him, cut her off as she passed the corner of the house. The bullet hit the porch post instead, leaving a noticeable reminder of today's events. Trapping Bonnie around her waist, he faced Emily holding a revolver on him.

"Let her go." Emily yelled.

"We just want gas. Supplies," the man said, tightening his hold on Bonnie. "That's all this is about. Just about fuel." Jake looked around, remembering Emily and El had mentioned 'men'.

"Let her go!"

Looking back to Emily, Jake saw her cock the hammer. The man she was aiming at took his right hand off Bonnie and lowered it to his side. He brought it back up, now holding a service pistol.

"Look." He kept lifting his gun while Emily begged him to release Bonnie. When the gun reached Bonnie's temple he spoke again. "Is this what you want to see?"

Emily shook her head in denial.

"Are you ready to talk now, miss?"

"Please let her go," Emily tried again, in tears.

A flicker of movement drew Jake's attention to the back corner of the house. The other man had edged around the corner and was sighting on Emily. Jake's bullet hit him in the chest.

His partner recovered first, pushing Bonnie away and firing toward Jake. Jake ran toward the patrol car, staying ahead of the bullets. He fired another shot as he dove behind the fuel tank, the one aiming for him ricocheting off the tank instead. Another shot rang out, but it wasn't from the service pistol. Jake looked through the windows of the car, to see the man spin around and drop. Emily was leaning over a little, breathing hard and staring at the body.

Helping Bonnie up, Jake looked in the trunk of the car. Jimmy and Bill were in there, half dressed and with their hands bound. He cut the tape with his pocketknife, and told Bonnie to get them into the storm cellar.

He headed to Emily, stopping to reach in and sound the car's horn to signal 'all clear' to El. "Emily, we've got to get inside." Flipping on the light bar for good measure, he looked back at Emily. She was still staring at the man she'd just killed. He tried to capture her attention, moving around her to get her eyes to follow him.

"Emily. Emily! Hey. It's going to be okay. Alright, I promise." Jake kept talking to her, trying to break her focus, carefully not touching her. "Everything's going to be okay. Alright? Look we've got to go in now."

She turned away from him. Jake circled with her, keeping in front of her. He tried again. "Babe. We've gotta get inside before the rain. Okay?" She finally seemed to respond, nodding her head in agreement.

He heard the truck pull up in front of the patrol car, and the engine cut off. Assuming El would go straight for the shelter, he returned his attention to Emily.

Taking Emily's hand, he pulled her toward the cellar door. "Come with me. Come on." As she followed, he started running, pulling her along, "Run. Run!" As he passed the truck, Jake saw Elizabeth still sitting in the truck, staring at where he and Emily had been. _'Why the hell isn't she running for the shelter?'_ He pushed Emily toward the shelter and ran back to the truck.

"El!" He looked to see what she was staring at. Realizing it was the dead man, Jake moved his body in front of the passenger window to block her view. "El! Don't look at him, baby."

When Elizabeth didn't blink Jake knew she had withdrawn inside herself again. Moving around to the driver's door he put both hands on her cheeks through the open window and directed her face to look at him. "Elizabeth!" he said firmly.

She blinked twice. "Jake?"

"Hey, sweetie. The storm's coming. We need to get inside."

"I don't like storms," she said as her eyes slid away from Jake to look past him.

"Look at me, El," Jake said, trying to get her attention back. She continued to stare past him, through him, that blank look from last night filling her eyes. The wind blew harder, swirling dust around the truck.

Opening her door, he pulled her out of the seat, grabbing the forgotten walkie-talkie lying next to her. "El, baby, I don't know where you are right now, but I need you to come back to me. We need to get in the cellar."

When she didn't react he tried a different approach, hoping what he observed last night with the children would work now as well. "Baby, the storm is bringing fallout from Denver. I need your help."

Holding his breath, Jake thought he had failed again. But then Elizabeth finally blinked and looked at him.

"I'll help you."

Letting Jimmy and Bill help Elizabeth down the cellar stairs, Jake worked on pulling the door shut. He had just secured the door when they heard a booming clap of thunder and the cacophony of rain drops striking cellar door.

Coming down the stairs, Jake took Elizabeth's arm and steered her over to the cot in the corner. "Here, El. Sit down and rest your leg." Turning around, he saw Bonnie by the medicine cabinet. "Bonnie, do you have anything she can take for pain?"

Bonnie nodded and pulled out a bottle for Jake. Taking it, he looked down at the label. He shook his head.

"Is there anything else? Aspirin thins the blood, and I'm already worried about the gash ripping open again." Leaving Elizabeth sitting there, he moved over to check the supplies.

Coming back with a couple of pills and a bottle of water, Jake leaned down to hand them to her. Elizabeth didn't notice until Jake nudged her arm.

She looked up through the haze in her mind to see his worried frown. "Oh, sorry. Thanks. Guess my leg's hurting more than I thought." Jake didn't look like he believed her. _'Too bad. That's all I'm telling you.'_ She returned his stare.

Jake started to say something, but stopped when he remembered who else shared the room with them. It might be the time, but this wasn't the place. "Okay, El. If you say so." He turned away to take the lantern Bonnie handed him and headed over to check on Jimmy and Bill.

"Hey, you guys okay?" Jake asked the deputies, joining them by the stairs. Remembering the hard way he still had the radio in his back pocket, he pulled it out and settled himself just above the landing. He tried to call the mine on the open channel, but nobody responded.

"Yeah," Jimmy answered, wrapping himself in the blanket Bonnie handed him. Bill refused his, settling for a step halfway up. "Looks like we're lucky you're back in town. When did you get back?"

"Yesterday," Jake replied, shifting a little in his spot, so they couldn't see his hands starting to shake. Jimmy had struck a nerve. If he'd stayed in Tokyo to finish his reports instead of taking them on the plane, he wouldn't be here now. Everyone in this room might have died, including El. The thought rattled him. He'd missed so much of her life. He could have missed the rest of it.

Looking into the room, his eyes glanced over El, her head leaning against the wall and her eyes closed, but landed on Emily, who had finally sat down on the bottom step. Handing the radio over to Jimmy with instructions to find somebody on it, he shifted over to check on her.

Not thinking, he reached around to rub her back. She shifted away, not wanting the reminder of times past.

"I thought you were gone." She carefully didn't look at him.

"Emily…"He started to explain, but she turned on him.

"Why are you here?" She spoke quietly, her eyes demanding a straight answer.

"Trying to keep you safe." Jake hoped it would be enough.

It wasn't. "It's never safe around you," Emily shot back before she got up and walked away to talk to Bonnie.

Jake froze. She must still blame him for Chris's death, and for leaving. He heard Jimmy shifting around a little, he and Bill carefully ignoring his conversation. Running his hand through his hair, he went to go check on El's leg.

Sitting down next to Elizabeth, Jake asked her, "How you doing, El?" When she didn't answer, he nudged her with his elbow.

She flinched and opened her eyes. "Wh…what?"

"I said, how are you doing?"

"Never better" she murmured, letting her eyes slide away from Jake to stare past the center of the room. Another loud clap of thunder sounded overhead, making her jump. She pressed herself further into the corner, hugging her knees to her chest as she started to shake. Across the room, Bonnie lit the final propane lamp. The light hit Elizabeth's eyes and she was blinded by the spotlights brought in to illuminate the accident scene. The flashing lights and sirens of the emergency vehicles blended in with the cries for help from the kids.

When Elizabeth jumped, Jake reached out to tentatively touch her arm. Getting no reaction, he shifted his position to lean against the wall next to her and put his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to him.

He wrapped his other arm around her when he realized how fast she was breathing. Remembering the last time they had been down in this cellar, ten years ago, he reassured her like he had then. "Hey, baby, it's okay. I'm right here. The storm will be over soon. You're safe, El. Just relax." He held her, talking quietly into her ear, until long after she relaxed, letting her head drop against his chest.

Feeling his good leg falling asleep on him, Jake reluctantly decided he needed to move around again. Quietly murmuring to El that he needed to move, he shifted her off to lean against the wall again. He asked Bonnie to come sit with Elizabeth while he restored the circulation in his leg.

A glance to Emily proved she hadn't forgiven him yet, so he limped over to talk with the deputies again. Jimmy was still trying to find somebody on the radio while Bill looked off into space. Jake climbed up the steps to his perch from before, stepping over Bill along the way, catching his attention.

"She's still not talking. I get that," Bill said, nodding towards Emily. "I'm a cop. I've never killed anybody. She's a school teacher." This sounded like something he'd been giving a lot of thought too over the last hour or so that they'd been trapped down here.

Bonnie stood up, worried about her brother. She started to pace in frustration. Looking to Jake, she signed to him, "Where's Stanley? Jake, my brother doesn't know about the radiation."

"When the rain stops," Jake said. "He'll be back; don't worry, Bonnie." Bonnie started to turn away as Jake finished the sentence he'd already started, not knowing how much she'd catch or believe. "I know Stanley; he'll be fine."

Jimmy stood up then, distracting Jake. "Jake, I got your brother. He's with your dad," he said, handing the radio to Jake.

"Finally." Jake took the radio. "Eric, how's Dad?"

"He's good. The Town Hall shelter's secure. Listen, Jake, where are you?" Eric's voice came in loud and clear over the radio.

"I'm at the Richmond's."

"Why are you there? I thought—"

"Two of the escaped prisoners from that empty bus last night were here," Jake explained. "But, listen, Eric. As soon as the rain stops, get every digging tool you can find and get to the mine. I had to blow the entrance to keep the rain out. Those people have been sealed up way too long. Though I'm more worried the explosion may have put some debris into the ventilator."

"Enough to slow it down?" Eric asked.

Jake took a deep breath. "Enough to shut it down. We gotta get them out," he repeated, hoping they'd get everyone out alive this time.

"We can't reach anyone at the mine. We have no radio contact with anyone there" Eric told him.

Jake closed his eyes, trying to convince himself that it was the rock surrounding their radio that kept anyone in the mine from calling out.

"Jake," Eric asked quietly. "Since when do you have experience with explosives?".

Inside the mine, Danielle found herself trapped in a corner with Jordan and Michael. With the way these two were going on about the explosion, she wished she were surrounded by the obnoxious group of eight year olds on the other side of the room. She had already told the boys to quiet down once when she saw Miss Lisinski looking their way. She wondered where Liz was, but figured wherever it was had to be better than here. She tuned the boys out as they continued rehashing what they saw earlier. In their excitement, they got loud again, and everyone in the room looked at them. Miss Lisinski left her kids and headed their way.

"Will you two knock it off? Talk about it later when there aren't a bunch of terrified kids and a panicking teacher nearby," Heather said quietly, as she indicated her students and Mr. Rennie behind her. "Mr. Rennie isn't feeling well. You need to stop talking about what Mr. Green did before he gets worse. Got it?"

"Yeah, okay." Jordan muttered as Michael nodded beside him. As she walked away, he continued. "Geez. What's her problem?"

"She's got a point, guys. People are scared enough as it is. All you're doing is making it worse. And, by the way, explosions aren't that cool." Danielle said as she moved a few steps away from them. She watched as Miss Lisinski returned to her students and decided to offer to help with them, knowing that's what Elizabeth would have done. She was halfway there when Mr. Rennie started to completely freak out. She watched in shock as the two men from the mine took him out of the room.

When Jake finished talking to Eric he asked Bonnie if he could borrow her chair. He needed to talk to Emily. What Bill had said had reminded Jake that not everyone he knew had dealt with the emotions raised by the killing of another person. He moved the chair closer to Emily, and straddled it.

"You doing alright?" he asked. She just looked at him. "Stupid question." That got a ghost of a smile from her. "Right."

Staring at her hands another minute, Emily finally asked, "How do you know the rain's radioactive? Denver's pretty far away."

Relieved that she was actually going to be civil to him, he answered. "Well, we don't know how many bombs there were. We don't know—" He was interrupted by a thud from outside. Nearly everyone looked up, trying to determine who was up there. Jake glanced at Elizabeth to see she was oblivious to the noises above them.

Bonnie saw the sudden shift of attention and turned to Jake asking, "What is it?"

Standing up, he replied, "Someone's up in the house" as another loud thud, sounding like a door closing, was heard. Jimmy and Bill drew their recovered weapons.

"Not more prisoners" Emily said, fearfully.

They listened, tracking footsteps to the storm cellar's door. Leaving the deputies to the front line, Jake shielded the girls from the opening door. Someone entered the shelter; turned to pull the door closed. Coming down another step, a dripping wet Stanley leaned down to look at his houseguests.

"Stanley!" Bonnie exclaimed, relieved to see her brother.

Coming further into the cellar, ignoring the guns on him, Stanley said "Oh, thank God—"

"No! Hey, hey!" Jake said catching Bonnie around the waist as she tried to embrace her brother. He pushed her back towards Emily and Elizabeth while warning Stanley back. "Stanley, don't touch her. The rain may be radioactive."

Jake saw it wasn't something Stanley had considered until now. And it scared Bonnie. Still curled up on the cot, Elizabeth reached for Bonnie's hand to comfort her.

Waiting out the storm was wearing on Jake's nerves. Needing to distract himself from the too-quiet girl in the far corner, he tried to think about what had happened the day before. But even if a bomb had hit Denver, why were they still out of power? The system should have rebooted by now. Hell, they couldn't even get a station to come in on the car radios. Something else had to be happening. Stanley's tanks supported that theory. Maybe he'd nailed it when he told Emily there could have been more bombs.

Falling back on his training, he decided he'd needed to go looking for answers out past the town. But he was going to need help. He couldn't drive to the nearest cities by himself in a reasonable amount of time. He called back to Town Hall, getting April. He asked her to get Dad for him.

"Yeah, son. What is it?" Johnston said over the radio.

"Dad, Stanley saw a line of tanks. Near I-70."

"Well, you know, there's a National Guard unit to the southwest there, in Goodland. Maybe they've got a relief effort going."

"Well, we need to get out there and see."

"That could be a dangerous thing to do, son."

"Can't just sit around and wait to find out what's happening. I'll go to Goodland. Someone should check out Topeka," Jake said as he watched El and Bonnie from across the room. El looked like she still hadn't quite come out of it, even though she was focusing on the room now.

"Okay, son" Johnston replied. Jake broke the connection then started to walk over to check on the girls. Emily, who had heard his entire conversation with his father, blocked his path.

"I'm going with you" Emily stated.

"What?" Jake asked.

"I have to find Roger. And Goodland is on the way to Wichita." She was starting to sound desperate.

"No. No, you're in no condition…" he replied, referring to the incident in the yard.

"I'm going with you, or I'm going by myself."

Jake finally relented when he realized that she meant it.

Jake's attempt to check on the girls was interrupted again; this time by Stanley.

"Jake, don't let Bonnie see your lips."

Jake moved closer to him, leaning on the support pole, facing away from Bonnie. Stanley looked at her, then away. Bonnie knew he was talking about her.

"Listen, man. If this thing doesn't turn out so good… you're going to have to uphold your end of our pact. Bonnie's still just a kid, so—"

Jake replied in a firm, threatening tone. "Stanley! Don't even. All right? You're going to be fine."

Stanley shook his head. "I don't know… my head is pounding and I feel like I'm going to throw up. Just promise me, Jake."

"I told you ten years ago I'd take care of her, Sta—" Jake's promise was interrupted by the rain suddenly stopping. Waiting to make sure, Jake opened the channel to Eric. Bonnie looked to Stanley, who began signing to let her know what was going on.

"Eric, the rain has stopped." He waited for the all-clear from his brother. Finally getting it, Jake divided everyone into teams. "Emily, get Stanley to the medical clinic, now, okay? Find April; she'll know what to do. Jimmy, Bill, you'll go to the mine, alright?"

From the corner of his eye, Jake saw Elizabeth finally come out of it. _'Thank God' _Relieved, he headed over to her and helped her stand when she buckled under the pain. Somebody threw open the door, letting it fall to the ground in a crash. He heard everyone talking but was too concerned for his daughter to pay them any attention.

"It still hurts, huh?" Jake asked Elizabeth. She looked up at him and nodded.

"Hey, Jake. You comin' with us?" Jimmy asked from the bottom of the stairs. Jake turned to look at him, then back to Elizabeth. He was torn; he wanted to take care of her, but he also had a responsibility to dig out the people he had buried alive.

Elizabeth noticed his hesitation. She wanted him to be the one to take her back to town, but knew she couldn't be selfish. Others depended on him; trusted him to take care of them. "Go, Jake."

"I need to get you to the clinic so April can look at your leg" he protested.

"I guess Emily's taking Stanley, so I'll just go with them'" she said. Noticing his hesitation, she continued. "I'll be fine. I'm tough," she said, smiling. "Besides, those people need your help."

"Okay," Jake said, finally giving in. "Go with Emily. I'll get to the clinic as soon as I can." He embraced her, kissing the top of her head. "Love you, El."

He let her go, heading for the stairs. Emily stepped in front of him, blocking his path.

"Jake, I meant what I said, alright?"

Pulling his mind back from the mine and the people trapped there, Jake replayed Emily's words in his head. "Yeah. Look, I know. I know. I will help you find Roger. I promise." Realizing how abrupt his words sounded, he put his hands to her face in reassurance. "Go. Take El and Stanley to the medical center. I'll meet you later."

Bringing the radio back up to his mouth, Jake opened the channel. "Eric, we're coming to the mine now."

Jake drove Shep's truck back to the mine at a slightly saner pace than when he'd left; Jimmy and Bill crammed in next to him. They met the Jericho Fire Department and Eric's volunteers at the mine's entrance. The Fire Chief and his captain were reviewing Jake's handiwork with Eric. Seeing Jake, they asked about how he'd blown it, to help them in choosing the safest spot to start making an entrance.

Letting the Fire Chief handle the team assignments, Jake and Eric continued their discussion about Jake's actions. Eric demanded to know why Jake would just leave these people here, to go haring off to Stanley's.

Jake locked his eyes onto his brother's and said two words. "Elizabeth. Emily."

Eric choked back what he'd planned to say, and just nodded. "All right."

The teams cleared as much loose rubble as they could by hand before they pulled out the jackhammers. After another hour or so, they finally broke through. The hauling teams rushed in again to make the opening large enough to get a fireman through. Eric and Jake followed, to help assess the trapped people. While Eric and the firemen stayed closer to the front of the room, Jake worked his way through the crowd, looking for Elizabeth's friends. Seeing the teenagers being escorted through the opening by Eric, he looked around to see who else might need help.

Heather Lisinski was standing near the back wall, patiently letting everyone else go ahead. Spotting her, Jake headed in her direction. When she turned and saw him, her smile intensified. Jake smiled back, unable to resist it. Somehow, the noise of the crowd faded away for a moment while he looked at her smile.

"You okay?" he asked her, tiredly.

"I think so." She sounded nearly as exhausted as he felt.

Jake looked over her shoulder to see Shep Cale and Gray Anderson carrying a man from one of the back 'rooms.' As they straightened out, Jake recognized Scott Rennie from the elementary school in their arms. Shep didn't see Heather as he walked backwards. She tried to move out of his way, but couldn't quite. The man's foot knocked her in the side as they passed. Her face went blank when she realized they were carrying Scott.

"Gray, what happened?" Jake queried.

Gray kept Shep moving, tossing his response over his shoulder. "He's dead." Shep looked upset, but continued walking to the exit.

'_How's El going to react when she finds out?' _

"What?" Heather asked in disbelief. Jake looked at her to see she was as shocked as he was. Giving her a few minutes to collect herself, Jake made a quick sweep of the mine to confirm everyone was accounted for. Chasing Jordan out of the supply closet and back to Eric, he returned to Heather.

"Hey, let's get out of here" he said. Heather nodded and let Jake lead her to the hole in the rubble. They made their way through and stopped just outside the mine at the top of the stairs, down to where everyone was climbing back into the buses. Jake and Heather looked at each other, knowing exactly what the other was thinking. There was no way in hell they were going to get back onto a school bus in the foreseeable future.

Jake looked around to see what other vehicles were available that might be appropriate. His eyes lit up when he saw Eric had brought his SUV. Looking around for Eric, he spotted him nearby. Leaving Heather's side, he went to go ask his brother for a ride.

"What is it, Jake?" Eric said.

"You mind giving us a ride to the clinic?" Jake asked. "I need to check on El."

"What? You don't want to drive the bus again?" Eric asked, jokingly.

Deciding to take the joke, Jake gave him a grin in return. "I think Heather would prefer to get in something with only four wheels. I know I would."

"Okay. I'll meet you at the truck once I get everyone else loaded on the buses," Eric replied, moving away.

Jake yelled his thanks to Eric's back. Returning to Heather, he escorted her over to Eric's SUV.

"I'm sorry about Scott Rennie" Jake said, as they reached their new ride. Opening the door, he helped her into the passenger seat.

"It just doesn't make any sense" she replied, shaking her head as she let him help her into the vehicle. He closed the door, leaning on the open window. She started to say something else, but was distracted by a disturbance near one of the buses. Following her line of sight, Jake saw Eric and Jimmy talking to Jordan. Michael stood nearby, while people stuck their heads out of the bus windows to look on. After a few minutes, Eric and Jimmy let Jordan go, his friend practically dragging him by the arm up the bus steps. Jimmy climbed on the bus after them as Eric walked over to meet Jake and Heather.

"What was that all about?" Jake asked as he got in the back seat behind Heather.

"Jordan Casey had this fantastic idea to try to sneak a stick of dynamite onto the bus," Eric replied as he closed his door and turned the key.

"Where did he find—" Jake started.

"I guess someone left it just outside the entrance. That's where he said he found it, anyway. He also said he only took it so he could get you to teach him to do what you did." Eric replied as he followed the last bus away from the mine.

Jake leaned against the back of his seat and sighed. "And Elizabeth's friends with him, why?"

"Jordan's a good kid. He just seems to have this new fascination with explosives," Eric chuckled.

"And a problem listening," Heather added.

"Yeah. About that." Jake leaned forward to touch her shoulder. "Thanks for stepping in earlier with him."

She smiled over her shoulder to him. "You're welcome." Losing her smile, she turned around further in her seat to ask, "Speaking of Elizabeth; is everyone at the ranch okay?"


	4. Chapter 2C

"I'm going to have one of the nurses bring you something for the pain, okay?" April tied off the last replacement suture.

"It's not going to be morphine or Demerol will it? 'Cuz they make me throw up," Elizabeth asked.

April applied the new bandage. "I remember. You can put your pants on now." She helped Elizabeth stand and handed her jeans.

Elizabeth struggled a bit with the thick fabric. "When do you think I can start running again?"

She needed to run as much as she needed oxygen. Running had always been an outlet for her emotions. And it liberated her from the intrusive thoughts that came with the flashbacks. Two flashbacks in less than twenty-four hours, after not having a single one for the last eight months, made for too much confusion in her head. She needed some room to sort it all out.

"Well, I'll need to check the stitches in a few days to make sure you're not popping them again. Then it'll be another week before I can take them out. I don't want you running before then," April replied. "You'll still probably have some pain after I remove the stitches, but as soon as you're pain free it should be okay for you to run. Now, that doesn't mean take an extra dose so you don't feel any pain. Pain free means pain free without the meds."

"Hey, that thought never even crossed my mind!" Elizabeth protested, sitting back down on the exam table.

"Honey, you're a Green. If it hadn't already crossed your mind, it would have within the next five minutes. God knows how many times Jake and Eric have tried that." April picked up her stethoscope from the end of the exam table and put it around her neck. "I have to go check on everyone else. Is it okay if I send Jake in here when he's done with Stanley?" Elizabeth nodded. April headed to the door, opened it, and disappeared into the hall.

A minute later Jake walked in. "Hey. How's Stanley?" Elizabeth asked him.

"Good. Making Spiderman jokes." Jake rolled his eyes as he sat down next to Elizabeth. "How're you doing? What'd April say?"

"She had to put in a couple new stitches. She's sending a nurse with painkillers."

"Soon, I hope," Jake replied as Elizabeth grimaced. "Did she say what she's giving you? Morphine, maybe? You're in a lot of pain. Morphine works fast and lasts longer."

"Last time I had morphine it made me throw up all night." _'Oh, crap.' "_Hey, would you raise up the head of the table for me?"

"When were you given morphine?" Jake asked as he stood up and worked the crank.

'_Damn.'_ "A couple years ago," she replied, shrugging. "Can you go check on Dad for me? He's been coughing a lot lately. I'd go myself, but April's making me stay here." Shifting on the exam table she folded her good leg under the other, trying to find a more comfortable—and less painful—position.

Jake realized she was avoiding his question but decided not to press it, yet. Instead, he gave her a look that promised a talk in their near future. After making sure she was comfortable, Jake left the room and wandered down the hall.

He stopped just short of another exam room where he heard his parents talking.

"I can run this town without my pants," Johnston said.

"And it wouldn't be the first time," Gail agreed.

"All right, that's a story I never want to hear." Jake stepped into the room.

"Hi, sweetheart!" Gail exclaimed, leaving Johnston's side for the first time since she'd found him on the floor in his office. "How're you feeling, honey? Where's Elizabeth?" she asked, giving him a hug.

"My leg's a little sore," Jake admitted. "El's down the hall. April's having one of the nurses bring her some painkillers. How's everything here?"

"Her leg?" Johnston asked before he was overcome by a coughing fit. Gail returned to his side, supporting him as he tried to catch his breath.

"Your father has the flu," Gail announced.

"It's nothing," Johnston argued. "Her leg?" he repeated.

"Yeah. She and Emily decided it would be a good idea for her to run to the neighbor's for help," Jake grumbled. "I don't know what those two were thinking with the pain she's in."

"Oh, and you wouldn't have done the same thing, Jake?" Gail shot back.

Jake stared at her for a moment. He couldn't really be mad at Elizabeth. He would have done exactly the same thing. "I suppose. Given the situation, they actually did come up with a good plan," Jake admitted. "I just wish I could have kept her from seeing that guy's body."

"Is she okay?" Johnston asked before he gave into another coughing fit.

"She's pretending she is; but I know she's not. She wasn't as bad as last night but she definitely wasn't herself in the shelter," Jake answered. "Mom, I hate to take you away from Dad, but can you come with me to see her? Something more than the dead guy is bothering her and she won't talk to me. Maybe she'll talk to you about it."

* * *

As long as she didn't move too much, Elizabeth could control the pain. Sitting back with her eyes closed, she heard someone enter her room. She opened her eyes when she heard the curtain being pulled back and saw her friends. "Hey, guys," she said, wincing as she turned so her feet were hanging off the side of the exam table again.

They returned the greeting. Danielle sat down next to Elizabeth while Michael took a swivel chair. Jordan pressed a quick kiss to Elizabeth's lips, then leaned against the exam table on her other side.

"Why are you guys so dirty?" They looked like they'd lost a fight with a sandbox.

"Salty is more like it." Danielle grinned. Seeing the confused look on Elizabeth's face, she continued. "We ended up in the salt mine. You didn't hear?"

"Uh, I think I heard Jake mention something about that," Elizabeth said.

"Yeah. Mr. Rennie died," Danielle told her. "He started panicking, then Mr. Cale and Mr. Anderson separated him from the rest of us. April thinks he had a heart attack."

Elizabeth, shocked by the news about one of her favorite teachers and family friend, could not say a single word. Mr. Rennie was one of those teachers whose passion for helping kids made school fun. When he realized that Elizabeth had been unchallenged by the normal class curriculum, he had given her extra, more advanced, homework to keep her involved. He hadn't been threatened by her intelligence; instead, he'd fed it. Completely opposite of Cutler.

"It was so cool though," Jordan said as intertwined his fingers with Elizabeth's. "Well, not about Mr. Rennie," he added after he saw his friends stare at him. "But what your brother did was pretty cool."

Michael nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Jake blew the entrance up with dynamite. It was like we were in a movie or something."

"Definitely," Jordan agreed. "I'd take radioactive rain every day if it meant I got to see him do it again."

Elizabeth and Danielle looked at each other. "Boys," they said, rolling their eyes. The boys looked at each other and grinned. Jordan straightened up and rummaged through a supply drawer. Finding a rolled ACE wrap, he took it out of the drawer and tossed it to Michael. Michael caught the bandage, and returned it in a smooth volley.

"I hate to interrupt your…game," April said, coming into the room a minute later. "But Elizabeth needs to take these." She stepped around the boys, carrying a bottle of water in one hand and two pills in the other. Reaching the girls, she handed the water and pills to Elizabeth, who popped them in her mouth immediately. "Codeine. Vomiting is a possible side effect with this as well, but I think you'll be okay. If it upsets your stomach, take your next dose with food or milk."

Elizabeth swallowed and nodded. "I thought you were sending a nurse."

"They were all too busy and I had a free moment. I'll bring your prescription over to the house later. For now, I better get back to my other patients," April said, turning to head out of the room. Passing the boys, she turned back around. "Don't do anything that will aggravate your leg. Like join these two in their antics."

"Thanks, April," Elizabeth said, laughing.

As soon as April left the room, Michael rolled himself over to the door and pushed it closed. He and Jordan resumed their game. "So, your leg's pretty bad, huh?" he asked.

He felt stupid for saying it. He knew Elizabeth had a high tolerance for pain—Topeka had proven that. For Liz to be taking the pills without protest spoke volumes about how bad she felt.

"Yeah," Elizabeth agreed. "But it's my own fault. I really shouldn't have tried to run for help with it as bad as it was."

"Help? Weren't you with your parents at Town Hall?" Jordan asked, halting their game to stand in front of Elizabeth, so close his legs touched her knees. He felt like an ass. He'd been so excited about the bus rides and the explosion that he'd never worried about where Elizabeth was. The thought that she could have been in danger hadn't crossed his mind.

Belatedly, he remembered that she and Bonnie had planned to set up for her party today. "Oh, God! You were at the Richmonds' today!"

Elizabeth nodded. "Long story short: there were two escaped prisoners at Stanley's with guns. We think they killed the sheriff last night. They wanted to get gas from the tank but Stanley wasn't there and he keeps the key." Elizabeth stopped for a breath. "So, I ran to get help. From what I pieced together, Jake heard Emily when she called over the radio and he came flying to the rescue. Jake shot one guy, Emily the other." Remembering the body in the yard, Elizabeth turned her attention to her hands resting in her lap. Her friends looked at her, mouths agape. Jordan reached out and held her cold hands.

When she could finally speak, Danielle changed the subject, much to Elizabeth's relief. "So, does that mean your party's off?"

"Uh, I guess so. I mean, there are two dead guys in Stanley's yard, and Bonnie and I didn't get a chance to finish getting everything ready."

* * *

"She seems to be doing fine to me," Gail said, as she and Jake observed El and her friends through the window.

"Yeah," Jake agreed. "But you didn't see her at Stanley's. She had an exaggerated startle response to the thunder and then she withdrew inside herself. Much like last night, but it seemed more…intense. I had to keep telling her she was safe and get her to focus on her breathing. What's going on with her, Mom?"

Jake wasn't stupid. It was obvious he knew something about PTSD and that he was beginning to associate Elizabeth's symptoms with the disorder. It was only a matter of time before Jake started demanding answers regarding Elizabeth's episodes; but Gail was going to stand by the promise she had made to Elizabeth four years ago to let her be the one to tell Jake.

_After the accident Gail had called Jake's number and left him a voicemail, not knowing when he'd hear it. In it she told him that Elizabeth had been in an accident on the way back from Topeka; and she was home from school for a few days recovering from her injuries. Elizabeth had convinced Gail and Johnston to let her give Jake the details when he checked in. But when he called three days later, she only told him that she was okay and she'd be going back to school in a week._

_After she hung up, she admitted to Gail that she'd chosen to keep quiet when she realized where he was. When Gail pressed her for why Jake's location would make such a difference, Elizabeth told her what she knew._

_Ever since Jake had told her a little of what he did, she'd started paying attention to the news. And she started to see the patterns. Even though he didn't actually tell her where he was assigned, she'd guessed he was in Iraq. _

_Elizabeth wasn't supposed to tell Gail about him being there; it was the first and only time she had betrayed his trust. Gail saw the guilt of having done so was eating away at Elizabeth, so she agreed to let Elizabeth tell him when she was ready. Gail made sure no one would utter a word about the details of the accident before then. _

"Jake, honey, I wish I could. But this is Elizabeth's decision. She'll tell you when she's ready."

Just then, Elizabeth looked out through the window, saw Gail and waved. Jordan dropped her hands but stayed by her side. Gail figured now would be a good time to enter the room. Gail patted Jake on the arm before she opened the door and stepped inside.

"Hi, kids," Gail said.

"Hi, Mom."

Gail walked over to Elizabeth and hugged her. "How are you feeling?"

"I think the meds are starting to kick in, so I'm okay," Elizabeth replied. "How's Dad?"

"April's confirmed he has the flu, but he'll be fine," Gail told her. Turning around to face the other teenagers, she asked "So, are you all still coming to the party?"

"The party's off, Mom. We didn't get a chance to set up and there's…"

"Your father and I were thinking we could move the party to our house. Obviously, we won't have room for everyone but there's still a cake and food that needs to be eaten."

"Really? We can still have the party?" Elizabeth asked.

"Yes, you can have the party. If you still want to, that is."

"Of course I do! Thanks, Mom, you're the best!" Elizabeth said as she hugged Gail.

* * *

Leaving his mother with the teenagers, Jake returned to his father's room. Walking into the room, Jake saw Johnston pacing back and forth across the room as he tried to get some information about the dead prisoners out of Bill.

"Good thing Mom's with El," Jake said, smiling as he took another step into the room. "I think she'd end up handcuffing you to that bed if she saw you working."

Bill smiled a 'thank you' at Jake and raced out of the room. Jake closed the door then proceeded further into the room.

"It's just the flu; I don't see why I have to sit here," Johnston grumbled. "There are a hundred things I should be doing right now."

"About that, Dad. I meant what I said; we need to go out there and get information."

"I know we do, but it's still dangerous."

"All I really need are people who can handle a gun and ask questions first. They'll have to be flexible; I can't say for sure how long we'll be gone. But I don't think any of them should have a family. Just in case."

"No one with a family, huh?" Johnston asked, giving Jake a look.

"Dad," Jake started to protest. "This will be nothing compared to what I used to do."

* * *

Jake left Bailey's and headed for Town Hall after sorting out the volunteers for the reconnaissance trip. Jake stepped through the front doors, aiming for his father's office.

"Hey, Mom" he said, smiling at her.

"Hey. Are you ready to leave?" Gail asked.

"Nearly. But I've hit a snag. My car's still out on the side of the road. Can I borrow yours?"

Gail stared at him. "Are you going to total it, too? You know, every time I loan you my keys…"

"Mom, that was ten years ago! I'm not going to be racing it. I'm past that. I'm only driving to Wichita." Jake had hoped she'd gotten over that little incident with her brand new Monte Carlo.

She held his eyes for another minute, letting him sweat. Pulling her hand out of her pocket, she tossed the keys to him. "Just be careful, honey. It's a long walk back from Wichita."

"Thanks, Mom. I'm just going to run to the house and pack my bag. Do you need anything?"

"Make sure Elizabeth is behaving herself. She's home alone since her friends were busted for being in the wrong place when the storm hit. She's been through a lot in the last couple days and she needs to rest."

* * *

Lost in his thoughts regarding Emily's accusation outside Bailey's, Jake missed seeing the movement of the curtain as he walked up the front walk to the house. Reaching for the doorknob, his hand closed on air when it was quickly opened from inside.

"Good, you're home. Let's do something," Elizabeth said as she pulled him inside the house. "Play a game, throw a ball around for awhile, anything. Something. Please."

Shutting the door behind him, Jake replied: "I can't. I just came home to pack my bag."

"But, I want to go running, and April said I can't. I've got to do something." Elizabeth followed Jake up the stairs.

"El, I'm sorry to hear that but I really can't. What about going over to Danielle's?" he said, walking into his room, Elizabeth on his heels.

"I can't leave. I'm on house arrest. Mom thinks I need to rest my leg," Elizabeth replied, rolling her eyes.

"Well, she's right," Jake said, as he grabbed his duffle bag out of the closet. "And, considering no one else is home _and_ you haven't made a break for it, you know she's right too."

'_Damn, he knows me too well.' _Elizabeth slumped down on the end of the bed as Jake went to the dresser and pulled out some clothes. She played with the fabric of her skirt, shifting it back and forth over her leg. "Where are you meeting Emily?"

"She's not going anymore," Jake said. "She's convinced herself that Roger's dead after we saw a Chinese newsfeed on Bailey's satellite dish. I didn't get a good look at the map, but Denver looked to be the closest to us. I want to see what I can find out for her."

"And I'll bet she blamed you for his death too, didn't she? She's such a—"

"Don't say it, El. Don't even think it," Jake interrupted, as he stopped what he was doing to look at her reprovingly.

Looking him in the eye, she realized Emily was still a forbidden subject. Jake was obviously still frustrated about the way their relationship ended. He looked ready to punch a wall.

"So, who's going with you?"

"A few other men are heading out in different directions, but I'm going to Goodland by myself."

"Is that safe? Shouldn't someone go with you?" The gears in her head were already turning as she formulated a plan to get out of the house.

"I'll be fine. This won't be the first time I've done a recon mission," he reminded her. Making eye contact with her, he continued. "And, before you ask; no, you can't go with me."

She opened her mouth to argue, but thought better of it. Instead, she just watched as Jake filled his bag with the essentials he would need for the next few days.

"Trust me, recon work is boring. You'll have more fun here," Jake said trying to break the silence. "All I'll be doing is a lot of driving, and hopefully getting some news."

"I'm not so sure. Besides, 'boring' worked for you for five years," she pointed out.

"You're right; it _worked_ for me. It doesn't anymore. If we didn't need information I wouldn't even be going."

"Is that why you came home?" she asked hesitantly. Although Jake had confided in her about certain aspects of his job, she learned long ago not to ask questions that would inevitably lead to discussion about his work. If she needed to know something, he would tell her.

Jake abandoned his packing. Sitting down next to her, he answered. "There are several reasons why I came home. That's one of them." Seeing the questions forming in her eyes, he continued. "Baby, it's past time for me to settle down; the constant relocating and the assignments themselves were exhausting. The only vacations I ever had were when you came to visit and, even then, I had all those last-minute meetings."

He hesitated for a moment as he considered whether he should tell her the next part or not. She already knew he'd lost people on other assignments so he figured he'd go ahead and tell her. "I lost some friends in Japan. Losing people you care about on every assignment puts things into perspective. I couldn't be away from my family anymore." He waited for whatever question her ever-inquiring mind would ask next.

"I'm sorry about your friends," she finally said.

"Me, too." Jake got up and walked to the dresser. "Now, scoot so I can change. These clothes reek."

Elizabeth giggled as she moved to the hallway. Jake closed the door, leaving it open just enough so they could finish talking.

"How long are you gonna be gone?" Elizabeth asked, leaning against the wall outside his door.

"Not sure. A few days maybe," Jake replied, his voice muffled as he pulled a shirt over his head. "Depends on what I find." He continued to change in silence as Elizabeth waited outside his door. Grabbing his bag, he opened the door and stepped into the hallway. "All right, I need to go get some stuff from Town Hall before I leave. Do me a favor? Do as Mom says while I'm gone, okay? Even if you are bored. After all, she's been through it all with me."

"Okay" Elizabeth promised. He turned away to go down the stairs but was stopped by Elizabeth hugging him. "Be safe, Jake. And come back soon. I missed you."

* * *

Gail met her son at her car. "Where's Emily?"

Shifting his grip on his supply box so he could open the back door, Jake answered her. "She's not going." He put the box in the back seat, followed by his duffle, keeping only the walkie-talkie.

"Good," she said. Then she demanded, "you're not going alone, are you?"

Closing the door, he gave in to the urge to roll his eyes. "You and El are quite the pair; she's already tried that, Mom." He reached for the handle on the driver's door. Gail touched his arm. Dropping his hand, he turned around to face her once again.

"Speaking of Elizabeth…" she said, her voice dropping to avoid being heard by passers-by.

Before she could continue, he spoke quietly. "What's going on with her? And I'm not just talking about her problems at school, or her language. Seriously, Mom, how long has she been having those episodes?"

"You ask me that, but you're still going." Gail fussed with his jacket a moment. "Is this really a good time to discuss this?"

"Do you really think I want to go? That I wouldn't rather be here…with you, with her?" Jake argued as he opened the car door and climbed inside. As much as he didn't really want to go, he felt he owed it to Emily and his father to do so. He knew his worry for Elizabeth and her inner turmoil would be a distraction. But he didn't see a better option. Looking back at her he saw what he expected to. "Don't give me that look."

"What look?" Gail asked, puzzled.

Pointing at her face with the radio still in his hand, he put the key in the ignition. "You know what look. That look."

She leaned in the open door. "Hey, after the seventy-five hundred times I have watched you drive away, not knowing if you were coming home, I've earned a look," she said, reaching in to grab his hand.

"I'm coming back, Mom" he promised, locking his eyes with her. Dropping his voice, he continued. "I'm going out there to see what I can find out, then I'm coming back to take care of my family."

"Well, just make sure you can, okay?" Gail finally relented, giving him a little smile. Reaching in, she gave him a kiss. "Bye, honey." She stepped away and closed the door for him.

* * *

Closing the front door behind her, Gail removed her jacket and hung it on the coat rack. Not finding Elizabeth in the living room or kitchen like usual, she headed up the stairs. She finally found Elizabeth in the bathroom, sitting on the edge of the tub with her skirt hiked up to expose her leg. She was removing the bandage covering the stitches.

"What are you doing, young lady?"

Looking up, Elizabeth shrugged. "It's bothering me."

Gail moved into the room and sat on the toilet, positioning herself within arms' reach of Elizabeth. "Bothering you how?" She pushed Elizabeth's hands out of the way and continued to unwrap the bandage.

"It itches. These things always make me itch," Elizabeth replied. "Can I leave it off for awhile?"

"Just let me clean it again for right now," Gail replied, standing up to reach into the medicine cabinet. She pulled out the bottle of hydrogen peroxide and some swabs and set them on the sink. She poured a mixture of half water and half hydrogen peroxide into a cup, and sat back down. She dipped a swab into the solution and started to clean around the sutures.

"Mom, are you okay with Jake leaving again?"

"I don't think any mother is ever okay with their kids leaving. Besides, he's not leaving. He's only going to try to find out what happened. He'll be home in a couple days, honey."

"He wouldn't even be going if Emily hadn't guilted him into doing so," Elizabeth grumbled.

Gail stopped what she was doing to look Elizabeth dead in the eye. "You don't know that for sure. Even if it was true, it's not your, or anyone else's, business so—"

"She did guilt him, Mom, and you know it. She's been doing it ever since Chris died—"

Gail had heard enough. "Stop it, right now! Whether or not you agree with how Emily treats Jake, you need to stay out of it. It's Jake's business. Or do I need to remind you of what happened the last time you felt the need to stick up for Jake?"

_Two years ago, Elizabeth had been placed in Emily's freshman English class. Emily had tried to get Elizabeth involved, but she would have none of it. Instead, she chose to sit there, ignoring Emily, until a parent-student-teacher conference was scheduled. That ended when Elizabeth verbally attacked Emily for the blame she had placed on Jake. After being asked several times why she refused to participate in class, Elizabeth finally responded by calling Emily every name in the book, going so far as to say the guilt Emily had placed on Jake had chased him away from town. Shocked, Johnston and Gail had made damn sure Elizabeth knew her behavior would not be simply dismissed with a slap on the wrist. _

_Elizabeth spent the rest of the semester going nowhere but home and school, and, for extra punishment, Gail had made Elizabeth accompany her every Saturday for her weekly get-togethers with Emily. It had been pure hell for Elizabeth. In frustration, she made the mistake of making a snide remark once. Spending the next three afternoons with Emily as her assistant had ensured it wasn't repeated._

Elizabeth sighed. "Fine," she replied. Gail sighed, then finished cleaning Elizabeth's sutures. After a few minutes, she couldn't stand the tension in the air.

"So, I was talking to Mrs. Leigh. She's got a lot of meat about to spoil and we decided to have a cookout tonight. It's going to be a big block party on Main Street," Gail said. "I know I told you to stay here but I was thinking, if you agree to lie down and rest until I get back from setting up the tables, we could move your party to the cookout. That way, there will be enough room for everyone."

"Let's do it!" Elizabeth replied quickly, the disagreement about Emily forgotten.

Laughing, Gail returned her attention to Elizabeth's leg. "I knew that'd be an easy sell. But, just remember it's on one condition," Gail reminded her.

"I'll go lay down as soon as you're done," Elizabeth promised. "I want to reread _Lord of the Rings_, anyway."

"I'm going to wrap this up again. I'll make it a little looser so it won't bother you as much." Gail started to wrap the bandage around Elizabeth's thigh. Elizabeth nodded reluctantly. Gail finished, then cleaned up the mess as Elizabeth stood up and let the full skirt settle over her legs again.

"Mom, why don't you take the food and cake and donate it to the cookout? No point in keeping it all here for us."

"Are you sure?" Gail asked as they moved down the hall towards Elizabeth's room.

"Yeah." Elizabeth's face acquired an impish grin. "But I'll bet Jake's gonna wish we kept the cake for ourselves."

"For himself, you mean," Gail corrected, as she helped Elizabeth get comfortable.

* * *

Main Street was bustling. Countless lanterns cast light over the tables where family and friends were gathered, both to celebrate their survival and mourn the people who had perished the prior evening. The tables had been placed up and down the street while grills lined the sidewalk. Nearly the whole town had gathered. The last time it had been like this was three months ago, at the annual Jericho Fourth of July celebration. Like then, they were now grilling steaks, burgers, chicken, ribs. But this time, instead of celebrating their country, they were focusing on each other and enjoying what could be—for all they knew—the last decent meal they would eat for awhile.

Elizabeth and her friends occupied a table just outside the Cyberjolt. Under normal circumstances, none of them would be enjoying the cookout after the stunt they pulled, but considering the events of the last 24 hours, their parents had allowed them to come. When Jimmy had informed Jordan's parents of their son's actions back at the mine, they were shocked. He probably wouldn't be seeing daylight for quite some time after today. Maybe when the school reopened. Danielle and Michael were under less severe restrictions for their infractions. They had only disappeared for the day, and not come home to wait out the storm. But Michael was still smoldering about his computer being impounded and had suggested that they sit as far away from his parents as they could. Completely sympathetic to Michael's pain, Elizabeth agreed to join them. An added benefit was that she and Jordan could sit together without having to endure the watchful eyes of Eric or Stanley.

Realizing they were still in public, with the entire town swirling around them, Elizabeth and Jordan had restrained themselves to holding hands under the table. But Jordan had rested his hand on her thigh now, and was slowly massaging it. Elizabeth knew that if she didn't walk away from him for a few minutes, they'd wind up in Stanley's barn once again. As much as she wanted to disappear with Jordan, she realized that wasn't the smartest idea tonight. She was still feeling the after effects of the day and wasn't sure how much control she could, or wanted to, maintain over herself or Jordan. And if Stanley were to find them in his barn, it would be just plain bad. Gently giving Jordan his hand back, she stood up and announced she was going for more food. Danielle decided to accompany her, leaving the boys together.

On their way to one of the grills, they passed a table where the rich kids were playing poker. "Hey, Elizabeth! Danielle!" Skylar Stevens called out, waving to them as she dealt the cards.

Elizabeth went over and greeted Skylar's friends, Danielle following. When she was younger, Skylar Stevens wasn't someone Danielle ever imagined she would be friendly with. Thanks to being one of the Mayor's daughter's best friends, she now knew nearly everybody in the school. There were many things about Skylar that she and Liz didn't like, especially the way Skylar and her friends treated Dale Turner and some of the other less-fortunate kids; but that didn't keep them from being amicable towards her. Liz had known Skylar nearly all her life, and even though they didn't hang out together any more, she missed the old Skylar. Danielle knew Liz hoped it was only a matter of time before Skylar stopped defining herself by the friends she kept. Out of the corner of her eye, Danielle saw Dale passing by one row over. It looked like he was helping to pass out food to the people seated there. Elizabeth had seen him too.

"So, we'll have to have a party at my place soon since you couldn't have—" Skylar offered, trailing off as Dale slowly walked by and caught her eye.

Elizabeth nodded. "Sure, that'd be great." Turning towards him, she got Dale's attention. "Hey, Dale."

"Hey," he returned uncomfortably as Skylar's friends stared at him. "I'm sorry about your party."

Elizabeth shrugged. "No big deal. We're actually on our way to get some of the party food and cake, if you want to join us," she suggested, stepping a little closer to the buffet tables. She wanted to get Dale, and herself and Danielle, out of the awkward position they now found themselves in. Dale nodded and Elizabeth said goodbye to Skylar.

* * *

After dinner, Elizabeth and the gang were playing cards when she looked up to see Jake heading for Town Hall, his duffle slung over his shoulder. As he passed their mother, Gail handed the corn in her arms to Dale and followed. Curious, Elizabeth quickly abandoned the game to head after them, Jordan joining her. Entering Town Hall, she heard Jake and Eric, who had been manning the radios, talking about Smoky Hill Bridge. Jake wandered around the bullpen gathering tools while he explained how he'd obtained the large metal object that had replaced his clothes in his bag. It was the black box from an airplane, but it was painted bright orange.

Gail asked about the passengers, and Jake hesitated. He glanced over and saw Elizabeth and Jordan had joined them in the Sheriff's Department, with more people streaming in behind them.

"There was a commuter plane that didn't make it and a 757 that was empty."

"Well, where are they? Where'd they go?"

He finally just looked back to his mother, and shook his head. "I don't know."

Bill broke the silence, asking how they could listen to the tape inside the box. Jake sent him after the old reel-to-reel machine and Gail left to get Johnston. Elizabeth moved up to lean against the counter where Jake was opening up the outer case. Eric focused on updating the crowd while she watched Jake. He was moving in quick, choppy motions, nothing like his usual smooth, controlled movements. She spoke quietly, not wanting to interrupt, but concerned.

"Jake, you okay?"

Jake sighed. "Yeah, I'm a little freaked." Glancing up, he saw Jordan standing right behind El, his hands on her shoulders, watching everything intently. Pointing to a clear spot on the back wall, he looked back at her. "El, he needs to go stand over there. I don't want to deal with him tonight." He returned to the task of removing screws.

As Elizabeth looked up and started to ask why, she saw Eric had moved back behind Jake and was shaking his head. He mouthed the word "no" over Jake's shoulder and indicated the wall as well. Giving up, she turned around to Jordan.

"You heard him. Why don't you go ahead and just wait for me over there?" Seeing he wanted to object, she tried again. Taking one of his hands, she shrugged. "Well, you could go tell Michael and Danielle, instead…" He finally gave in and went over to stand next to Bill's map, looking pissed.

Bill brought the tape player in and set it down on one of the back desks just as Jake finished with the screws. Carefully removing the reel from the box, he took it over and mounted it on the player. He called Elizabeth over, asking if she had ever seen how a tape deck worked. He started laughing when she just stared back at him. Catching his breath, he indicated the tape's path and explained how the heads were able to read the information encoded on the ribbon of tape. By the time they had everything set up, and Jake had listened to the tape once, a small crowd had gathered in the room.

Johnston worked his way through the crowd to join his family by the desk. Emily followed the Mayor in; seeing Heather, she joined her. Jake's eyes followed her. Heather reached out to hold Emily's hand. Eric drew Jake's attention away from the women.

"Dad's here."

Stopping the tape, Jake removed his headphones and quickly ran down what they were going to hear. Pulling the headphone plug out, he leaned forward to start the tape, but was halted by Johnston.

"Wait, the kids." Several parents escorted their children outside. Elizabeth had no intention on heeding his words, so she stayed put. Until Gail tapped her on the shoulder.

"That means you, too." she said, pointing to the door.

"Mom, let her—" Jake started to interrupt until she shook his head at him.

Lowering her voice, she said quietly: "She doesn't need to be here for this."

Jake raised one eyebrow, promising he'd question her about her statement later. He looked over at Elizabeth to get her reaction. She didn't look happy, but she walked away, stopping to collect Jordan on her way. He shook his head at whatever she said, pointing to the tape. She continued outside without him.

* * *

After his discovery of Roger's plane landing safely, most of the listeners had trailed out after Emily to tell others what they'd heard. Jake left Town Hall after listening to the cockpit voice recorder a few more times with his father and Eric. He joined the party on Main Street, looking for Elizabeth. Searching the moving crowd was complicated every time he was stopped by someone thanking him for helping with the salt mine, or information, or just to welcome him home. Distractedly, he thanked everyone, without really focusing on them. Finally, he spotted Elizabeth sitting at a table with her friends, groaning when he saw Jordan.

"Can I steal you away for a few?" Jake asked Elizabeth when he reached their table. She nodded but held up a finger to him as they continued their hand. She folded after the river card was dealt, then stood up and followed Jake to a spot on the sidewalk a few yards away.

"What's up, Jake?"

"I just wanted to check on you; see how you're doing," he answered.

"I'm good," she told him. "What was on the tape?"

"I don't think Mom would want me to tell you that; though I'm sure Jordan already has." Hearing her exasperated sigh, he continued. "Look, I'll talk to her. See if I can convince her it's okay for you to listen to it. It _is_ okay if you hear it? I mean, you _can _handle it, right?"

"Yeah, I can handle it, but if Mom doesn't want me to know—" she trailed off, looking past Jake towards Jordan and the poker game she'd abandoned. "Hey, why were you so harsh on Jordan earlier?"

The question caught him off-guard, and Jake stuttered. "I…he…did he tell you he stole a stick of dynamite out of the storage shed at the mine, and tried to bring it back to town? And that he ignored me when I told him to go inside the mine—several times?"

"Yeah, he told me while we were still at the clinic. Right after Jimmy told his parents. They were so pissed; they chewed him out right there in my room. We 'discussed' it and he knows it was dumb for him to take that dynamite. He said he'd come apologize tomorrow. 'Course, I'm pretty sure he's going to apologize to Jimmy and Eric, since they're the ones who busted him." she admitted. "And it's not like you never did anything stupid," she reminded him. Seeing him flinch at her comment, she realized it had come out a little too harshly. "Sorry, I shouldn't have—"

"No, it's okay," he interrupted her. "I'll let you get back to your friends." He waved his hand in the direction of her friends before he turned to walk away.

"Jake," Elizabeth said, reaching out her hand to touch his. Jake turned around to face her again. "I had Mom save a few pieces of my cake for you. Since it's your favorite and all—Triple Death chocolate." She hoped he'd take her birthday cake as a peace offering after her comparison between him and Jordan. He did.

"Thanks," he replied, smiling. "Have fun with your friends; I'll talk to you later." He turned and walked back to the grills, passing a table where Heather was sitting alone. She still looked shaken over her friend's death. He decided that he wouldn't be the only one getting some of the cake. His mother's baking was considered some of the best food therapy in town. Jake claimed two of the saved pieces of the chocolate cake from Gail in exchange for a promise to escort Elizabeth home, and made his way back to Heather.

"Thanks," she said.

She looked startled by both the cake appearing over her shoulder and the person delivering it to her. He took the smile she gave him as permission to join her. Jake eased into the chair on Heather's left, giving him a clear view of Elizabeth and her friends.

Elizabeth had only mentioned her friends in passing when she'd visited, leaving Jake curious about who she hung out with at home. He was especially curious to find out if El's feelings for Jordan were stronger than just friendship. Their body language at the hospital and Town Hall today said yes. He hoped his suspicions were wrong.

Jordan's rashness irritated Jake. He was worried that El would get caught up in it, and get herself into trouble—maybe more than being a Green could fix. Just like he had at her age. If El was going to start dating, then it should be somebody who wouldn't embarrass the family. That was the drawback of being the Mayor's children.

Heather took a bite of the cake, searching for a safe subject to talk about. She understood she needed to quit thinking about Scott's death and the explosion yesterday. But she knew very little about Jake Green other than he lived in New York, had a broader range of knowledge than many here in Jericho, and once dated Emily. Her eyes fell on Emily, smiling and laughing with some of her friends. Considering Jake knew her, she figured that might work.

"She looks so much better." Jake followed her line of sight and realized that Heather was actually referring to Emily. "You really made her happy," she continued, looking down at her plate, missing Jake's fixed stare.

"I owed her," he said, quietly.

"Well, I'd say this makes you even." Heather looked at him again.

"Not even close," Jake admitted. His eyes had remained fixed on Emily the entire time. Heather realized that Jake and Emily were a subject she shouldn't have gotten into. She wondered if he still loved Emily and if he was just being polite to her. It hadn't seemed that way every time they'd wound up on the school bus, but she sure wasn't going to test that theory anytime soon.

The silence that followed his comment broke him out of his reverie. He realized he'd freaked Heather a little bit when he saw the fixed smile on her face. Feeling guilty, he tried to lighten the mood. As Emily walked away, she passed El's table. _'That'll work.'_ "So, how exactly do you know Elizabeth?"

Heather breathed a quiet sigh of relief at the topic change. "Over the summer I started a reading program; a mini-summer school, if you will. The first day more kids showed up than I expected, so I started to look for volunteers. Elizabeth and a few other kids from the high school showed up, but she was the only one to stay for the entire summer. The kids enjoyed it so much; she thought it'd be a good idea to continue the program during the school year. We got permission from the principal and started an after-school reading and tutoring program."

"Oh," Jake replied. "I didn't know about that."

"She's really good with the kids, and they love her," Heather continued, taking another bite of cake. "So, two days a week until four-thirty we're with the kids; then we go running."

"Did you run in high school too?" Jake asked.

Heather nodded. "And college. But never like her."

Jake nodded knowingly. "She could run for days trying to find the end of an endless road. Even when she was little she had to run everywhere; she never walked." He took a bite of his cake as he glanced over to Elizabeth again. "She just hurt her leg in the car accident and she's already growing restless about not being able to run."

"I can understand that," Heather acknowledged, nodding down towards her broken leg. She took another bite of her cake. "This cake is really good."

"Courtesy of El," Jake said. "It's her birthday cake."

They fell silent for a few minutes, enjoying the illusion of tradition. Jake watched El as she won a hand, and smiled to himself.

"So, uh, are you a better runner than you are a skater?" Heather asked him.

"What?" Jake stopped his fork in midair, halfway to Heather's plate.

"If I remember correctly, you spent more time kissing the ice than actually skating at Rockefeller Center last Christmas."

"She told you that?" Jake asked, choking on the piece of cake he had stolen from Heather's plate.

Laughing, Heather said, "No. She e-mailed the pictures to your brother and I happened to walk by the Cyberjolt when he was showing them to Stanley." _'Oh my, he actually looks embarrassed.'_ The little boy expression was too much for her and she started laughing again.

Shaking his head, Jake avoided Heather's eyes by directing his own back to Elizabeth. He had intended on keeping a close eye on her, but seeing an empty table where she had been sitting only minutes ago, Jake realized his conversation with Heather had thoroughly distracted him. He didn't really want to leave Heather thinking he was a klutz, but it was getting late, and he figured he'd better find Elizabeth before his mother did.

"Uh, oh, I better go track her down. Mom will have a cow if El gets home after she does." Jake stood up and gathered up their plates.

"Would you like some company?" Heather stood up quickly, and nearly tripped over the crutch on her right, having forgotten about it while talking with Jake. "Uh, I mean, you still haven't answered my question…not that I can talk," she finished lamely, feeling a blush starting.

Jake raised his eyebrow. "You sure you're up for a walk? I don't know where she's gone, and I'm out a car, now."

"I'll make you a deal. If or when we get near my place, I'll say goodnight. Same deal if I start to wear out. Work for you?"

* * *

Sitting on the top step of the church, Elizabeth yawned, fighting the urge to scratch her itchy leg. If she hadn't promised to leave it on, the bandage would have been off hours ago, as soon as Mom had let her out of her sight. The meds were starting to wear off and she was exhausted. But she'd deal with the pain if it meant she didn't have to be alone with her thoughts. Or the dreaded nightmares.

"So, 1 a.m.?" Michael asked Jordan, continuing the discussion on when to meet up after bed-check.

Looking down the street, Elizabeth saw the familiar form of Jake walking with Heather towards them. She needed to end the current conversation fast. "Looks like I'm out tonight, guys."

Her friends gave her odd looks. Usually she jumped at any opportunity to roam the streets after dark. Before they could question her, she continued. "My leg's bothering me. You guys have fun tonight; maybe I can join you tomorrow." She then waved as Jake got closer. Spotting him, her friends knew it was going to be more difficult for Liz to get away now that her brother, the light sleeper, was in the next room.

"Hey, what are you guys up to?" Jake asked as he and Heather broke off their conversation.

"Just talking," Elizabeth said, almost masking the annoyance she felt that he had come looking for her. Her friends nodded in agreement.

"Okay. Well, it's getting late. I think we should head home before Mom and Dad do. I don't think you'd want them to find you're not there."

Heather chimed in, "C'mon, you three. I'll bet your parents are looking for you again. From what I heard earlier, you don't want to make things worse."

Grumbling, the kids followed Heather. Just before she turned the corner back to the party, Heather looked back to Jake and Elizabeth, and caught Jake's smile.

Catching the look that passed between them, Elizabeth grinned. "She's really nice, isn't she?"

* * *

"So what, Jake? You're blaming me for Scott Rennie's death? You're the one that blew up the entrance to the mine two days ago!" Eric asked as he stood outside the downstairs bathroom in the Green house. He had stopped by an hour earlier for what he thought would be a peaceful and quiet respite from the events of the past two days. Instead, he had spent the entire lunch butting heads with Jake, and, from the way it looked, they'd be at it for awhile.

"All I'm saying is that you should have let more people in the shelter at town hall," Jake yelled back across the open door as he continued washing up.

"Dammit, Jake, you know full well that I couldn't let any more—" Eric started before he was pushed into the small bathroom by Elizabeth. Before either of the Green boys could respond, Elizabeth had pulled the door closed. They heard the turning of the key as she locked the door.

"Elizabeth!" they both shouted.

"This isn't funny. Let us out," Eric said before Jake jumped in.

"Elizabeth Green! Unlock this door right now!"

"No! All you guys have done for the last hour is argue," Elizabeth said from the hallway. She heard footsteps behind her and she turned to see Johnston and Gail approaching.

"What's with all the yelling?" Gail asked.

"Uh, sorry. I'll, uh, let them out," Elizabeth stammered. She knew her parents would figure out who had locked Jake and Eric in the bathroom. There would be only one culprit, after all. She had hoped she could have gotten back to her room first, though. She turned to unlock the door but was stopped by Gail's second question.

"Honey, why did you lock them in the bathroom?"

Dropping her hand from the door, Elizabeth replied, "They're still fighting about Mr. Rennie and the town hall shelter." Shrugging her shoulders, she continued. "I thought maybe they could use some time…to talk. I'm sorry. I'll let them out."

"No, you know what? Maybe that's not such a bad idea," Johnston said, trying to stifle a laugh. "Maybe that's exactly what they need." Elizabeth looked at Gail who took a moment to respond. When she did, Elizabeth was surprised to see a nod of approval.

Moving to the door, Gail said "One of us will be back later to let you out." Before she followed Elizabeth and Johnston down the hall, she added: "You two play nice now." As she walked away, Gail heard a string of protests from her sons. She didn't even try to keep the smile from appearing on her face.

* * *

Shaking his head, Jake said, "Where the hell does she get these ideas?" Then he leaned back against the sink and glared at Eric leaning against the door.

"Maybe you'd know if you'd been around the last five years," Eric muttered, glaring back at Jake.

"Is that why you've been acting like a jerk all day? You're mad that my job took me away from here?" Jake asked.

"Me? Acting like a jerk? You're the one who has been on my case ever since I showed up for lunch. You're acting like it's my fault—" Eric shot back.

"You didn't answer my question!" Jake interrupted. "Are you really mad at me for being gone for five years? Because, if I remember correctly, you had no problem admitting you wanted me to leave town after Chris died. And I don't remember you putting up a fight for me to stay here when I told you that I had to relocate."

"This isn't about me, Jake. Never was!" Eric argued as he moved to sit on the edge of the tub.

"Then what is this about, Eric? And don't give me some bull about it being Mom and Dad because they understand why I left. And, yeah, I know they worried about my leaving, but they supported my decision."

"This isn't about Mom and Dad, either! It's about Elizabeth. Do you have any idea what she's really like? Mr. Cutler has had more conversations with Dad about her than you can count. Some of her other teachers are beginning to be concerned about her schoolwork as well. Her mouth is getting her in trouble more and more. And now she's sneaking out of the house after midnight. Jimmy's brought her home a few times; so have I." Eric stopped for a moment, running his hands through his hair. "You should've been here but where were you? Off caring more about some damn foreign kids than your own daughter! I get you were trying to be noble and heroic, but your priority should have been her! You should have been here for her; instead you were off saving the world!"

"Do you really think it was easy for me to be away from her? Do you really think I left without considering the consequences?" Jake realized how loud he'd gotten. Sitting down next to Eric, he continued in a more controlled voice. "Dammit, Eric. That was the hardest damn decision I've ever had to make. It was hell being away from her. I missed out on a lot in the last five years, I know, but don't you ever say I don't care about her! If I didn't care do you think I would've talked to her almost every week? Have her come visit me? Send her letters and email? I missed her every single day and I questioned my decision to leave every single day. She _is_ my priority, Eric. She's why I took the job, but she's also the reason I regretted taking it." He shook his head. He couldn't believe Eric was questioning his love for his daughter. Then something Eric had said struck him as odd. "What exactly had you out of your house in the middle of the night?"

* * *

"Elizabeth! If you do not stop that right now I will find a way to tie you to that bed!" Gail snapped, standing in the doorway of Elizabeth's room.

Like a deer caught in headlights, Elizabeth stopped pacing and turned to look at her. "What? I'm not doing anything."

"You've been up here pacing for going on twenty minutes. I told you to sit down and rest your leg, not wear a hole in the carpet," she countered. Ever since they had left Jake and Eric in the bathroom, Elizabeth had been quiet, too quiet for Gail's liking. And restless. She had wandered around the house, aimlessly, for the first fifteen minutes until Gail sent her upstairs. Gail had hoped Elizabeth would take that as a hint to find something to do that did not involve the use of her leg. At first, Gail had tried to pass off the occasional sound of moving feet. But then the movement became more consistent and louder, and Gail decided to act on it.

"I don't know what to do." Elizabeth said. Running was out. Even if she could have gotten past the dragon lady, she knew she ran the risk of more damage, and thus more restrictions.

At the party last night she had been tired, but when she had tried to fall asleep later, she couldn't. Every time she closed her eyes she had seen the dead couple in the car, then the dead guy in Stanley's yard. So she'd stayed awake, using her iPod to distract her brain, until the battery ran down. She knew if she did fall asleep without the aid of total exhaustion, the flashbacks would come. Running would have cleared her mind, and worn out her body.

"Well, you better not be thinking about leaving this house. If you do, I'll make sure to tie you to that bed until you get those stitches out," Gail threatened. "So find something to do. Got it?"

A few minutes later, Gail finally let her sons out of the bathroom. Before she had a chance to gauge how their time in lock-up had gone, Jake asked her where Elizabeth was.

"In her room, probably fuming because I threatened her with bed rest if she didn't stop walking around," she told him.

He headed up the stairs interested in finding out more about what Eric had told him, from the source herself. When he knocked at her door and entered her room, she was lying on her bed, head propped on a pillow, reading.

"Ah, _Catcher in the Rye_, the classic novel of teenage angst. I thought you already read that one," he said, as he closed the door behind him, making sure it latched.

"I have. Multiple times," she answered as she peered over it to look at Jake. "We're supposed to have a book report due on it in a few weeks," she explained. "But I guess it's pretty dumb of me to be thinking about school. It's not like it's gonna be back in session anytime soon."

"You're not dumb," Jake told her, as he pulled her desk chair over so he could straddle it and face her. "But, considering you're probably right about school, I think you should put down that book for a little while. I need to talk to you about something."

"About what?" she asked, setting the book on the bed next to her.

"Something Eric and I talked about downstairs. How often does your mouth get you into trouble?"

"You know, speaking of mouths, Eric's got a big one," Elizabeth replied, deliberately avoiding his question.

"Uh, uh. That's not going to work."

"It doesn't matter how often." She picked up the book to continue reading. Jake reached over and grabbed it out of her hands.

"Yes, it does. So tell me," he demanded as he leaned back to put the book on her desk.

She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "Fine. Usually every Sunday at dinner, and once or twice throughout the week. It's no big deal really."

"I think it is kind of a big deal; you were never like that when you came to visit me."

"That's because I was away from here."

"Yeah? What's so different about Jericho that makes it hard for you to watch your mouth?"

"Hmm, let's see. Jackass, incompetent teachers. Eric and Stanley breathing down my neck about things. The constant comparisons to you and Eric. Oh, and I don't know, maybe the fact that everyone thinks I'm gonna turn into the screw up you were before I was born," she told him, ticking off each reason with her fingers.

"First off, who is everyone?"

"A few of my teachers, my guidance counselor, Mrs. Leigh. I swipe a few things and all of a sudden—"

"You stole stuff?!" Jake exclaimed.

"Just some candy bars and sodas" she said, brushing it off with a shrug of her shoulders. "It's not like I'm the only one who did it; I'm just the only one that got caught. Like I said before, no big deal."

Jake wasn't sure how to respond. The kid he left behind five years ago would never have committed theft, no matter how minor it was, or how much pressure her peers put on her. The girl sitting in front of him now was a far cry from the one he remembered from last December. Eric had been right when he said her behavior and attitude had gotten worse since she got back from New York. What the hell had happened while he was gone?

"Well, it is a big deal. Remember, Dad's the Mayor. What you do reflects on him." Jake tried to lighten the lecture. "Or haven't you heard enough about my screw-ups from everybody?"

It seemed to work. Elizabeth giggled. "I know that, Jake. It's why I decided to not get involved in anything more serious. And, the way they make it sound, it's a wonder you ever stayed out of jail long enough to go to school."

Jake looked uncomfortable at that. He rubbed the stubble on his jaw self-consciously. "Yeah, it was a pretty wild time. I'm amazed Dad even talked to me before now. Maybe if I hadn't decided I knew it all back then, I'd have done better for myself. You know how Grandpa had set aside that money for us to use for college?"

Elizabeth nodded.

"Well, mine was earmarked for Embry-Riddle. I was going to be a pilot. Instead, I convinced myself that I could handle anything, and screwed myself out of school." Jake realized how harsh he was being on himself. "Now, don't get me wrong, I've done well in the long run. And I wouldn't change anything—except for having missed the last five years with you guys. But it was a lot of hard work and long days away. I just don't want you to learn this lesson the hard way. Believe me, there's plenty of hard lessons out there."

El looked lost in thought, but at least she wasn't trying to blow him off any longer. Jake decided to try his luck one more time.

"Hey, El?"

She glanced up at him. He looked confused now. "Why would Eric and Stanley be breathing down your neck?"

* * *

The last few days were finally catching up to him; Jake was exhausted. The house was so much quieter than anywhere he'd stayed in over a year. It was taking all his willpower and training to stay awake as he waited for the inevitable. He lay in bed fully dressed, including an old pair of running shoes that he'd found in his closet. He hadn't left his door open since he was fifteen; claiming Eric's snores were too much for him. Now it was barely ajar so he could hear any movement in the hallway.

Finally, two hours after everyone had turned in for the night, Jake heard Elizabeth as she walked by his room, hitting the loose floorboard, and then down the stairs. Getting up, he slowly opened his door a little wider, listening to determine where she was headed. He heard the front door open, then close. He followed her.

Jake stood in the shadowed doorway of the old Pizza Garden watching El for ten minutes. She checked her watch for what must have been the fifteenth time. Out of all the places she could have gone, she had stopped outside of Town Hall. _'Who is she waiting for?' _That question was answered when Jake saw Jordan hurrying towards her. _'You have got to be kidding me!' _They hugged for far too long as far as Jake was concerned. He didn't want El to know he had followed her, or he would have dragged the boy home to his parents that minute. He watched as Jordan pointed his finger down Main Street but Elizabeth shook her head 'no'and said something. Finally they sat down on the steps of Town Hall and started to talk.

After awhile, Elizabeth stood up, pulling Jordan up with her. She said something to him and he pulled her in for another hug. Breaking the hug, they automatically found each other's hand, then started walking and talking quietly. Jake followed them as they walked through town, to The Pines and back, finally making their way back to the house two hours later. After another full-contact hug, El headed into the house. Jake breathed a sigh of relief when Jordan didn't kiss her. It didn't appear to be as serious as he'd thought, but he would still be putting an end to her late-night excursions. He waited until Jordan reached the end of the street before he stepped out of the shadows and slipped inside to get some much needed rest.

"Late night?" Johnston asked as Jake walked into the living room with a cup of coffee and collapsed, tiredly, into the recliner. It was after lunch; Gail and Elizabeth had left over an hour ago to have April check her stitches. Even though Jake had never been an early riser—the last two mornings were the rare exceptions—Johnston had never known him to sleep this late.

"Yeah," Jake confirmed. "El…she—"

"Snuck out again?" Johnston asked. This morning when he had entered the kitchen before Elizabeth—a rarity—he'd had a feeling she had spent some time outside after dark. The one-sided conversation confirmed his hunch. He'd questioned her, but she denied stepping foot outside the house. Instead, she chalked her tardiness up to a restless night of sleep.

He knew it was a lie and that he should've called her on it. But, he was confused by her blatant disrespect. Up until recently Elizabeth would never have dared lie to him; during the last few months she'd lied to him more than she had her entire life. Somewhere over the course of the last six months or so they had lost her, and he didn't know why.

Jake nodded. "I'll handle it, Dad." Johnston had no doubt that he would. Jake opened his mouth to say more but was interrupted by the front door opening. Gail and Elizabeth walked in, followed by Elizabeth's friends. Gail stopped to close the door as the kids made their way down the hallway, chatting and laughing. She stepped into the living room.

"Good to see you're finally up," she told Jake, as she sat down next to her husband on the couch.

"He had a long night," Johnston told her, and, much to Jake's relief, left it at that. "What are those four up to?"

"Off to play football in the backyard," she replied. Then, to stop the string of protests she knew both men were going to make, she continued. "April checked her leg; she's doing fine. Elizabeth promised to take it easy and she knows better than to go back on that promise."

Jake waited until he heard the shouting and laughter come from the backyard. He put his coffee down on the side table. Convinced they wouldn't be overheard; Jake asked the question he'd been wanting to ask since he'd gotten back from his fact-finding trip. "Mom, why did you make El leave Town Hall the other night? Why couldn't she listen to the tape?"

Gail had been expecting the question, but, even so, it didn't make this conversation any easier to have. She looked to her husband, for support and strength, knowing that Jake was not going to be happy with the answers.

"She's been through a lot, son," Johnston said. He hesitated for a moment, before continuing. "More than just the last few days."

"Before you left for Goodland you asked me about her odd behavior," Gail spoke up, taking over for her husband. "She's had spells like this for a few years now. But she hasn't had an episode since she got back from New York…until the day of the bombs."

"A few years? How come I didn't know about them? What's the trigger? What the hell happened to her?" Jake was getting pissed, and scared, again. He knew his parents were stonewalling him; that they had no intention of actually telling him the truth. "I have a right to know, damn it!"

"Jake, honey, we know that," Gail agreed.

"Then stop stalling and tell me!" Jake yelled at her as he stood up and began to pace across the room.

"Sit down," Johnston demanded. "Sit down and calm down." He waited until Jake threw himself back in the chair. "Look, when she's ready, she'll tell you. All we can tell you is that, aside from the occasional nightmare or flashback, she's fine. She's safe."

"Did someone hurt her?" Jake said, quietly, finally voicing one of his chief concerns. "Did some sick—"

"No, Jake. No one hurt her."

* * *

After another hour of pacing the house, and somehow not putting his fist into the wall, Jake gave up and left. His parents had refused to discuss the matter any more and he wanted nothing more than to drag El into the house and demand the truth from her; even though he knew that was the worst possible approach. Instead, he headed out the front door and started walking until he found himself at Bailey's.

Jake was surprised to see how crowded Bailey's was. Holding the door open for the couple walking out, he spotted Stanley sitting at the bar, nursing a bottle of beer. He made his way through the crowd, finally sliding into the barstool next to his friend.

"Hey, Stanley." Jake caught Mary's attention and signaled for a round.

"Hey, Jake," Stanley replied as Mary brought him a new beer and placed Jake's first one in front of him. They nodded their thanks and sat quietly as they observed the scene around them. "Kinda crazy, huh? Even the world going to hell can't keep the crowds away."

"Yeah," Jake agreed. "So, how are you doing?"

"Good. Although, I'm slightly disappointed that my spider powers haven't kicked in," Stanley replied, chuckling.

"You know, after five years, I thought you'd actually grow up," Jake told him, laughing.

"You know, after five years, you're still secretive as hell," Stanley said.

While he had meant it as a joke, it came out just the opposite. He didn't know what Jake was planning when he dragged him off his stool and to the now empty booth on the back wall. He relaxed when Jake grabbed a rag from the bucket under the wait station, wiped down the table and signaled Mary for another round.

They spent a few minutes talking about how Jericho had changed since the last time Jake was there, most of which Jake already knew from Elizabeth, but he didn't tell Stanley that. Stanley told him about the cute but bitchy IRS agent that had visited him the day of the bombs. Jake told him, briefly, about what it was like living in New York and San Diego. Since Elizabeth had gone to visit him in both cities, his location stateside had never been a secret. It was just his reasons for living there that Jake couldn't talk about. But, somehow, their conversation kept coming back to the girls they loved more than anything.

"You know, I just don't get it," Jake said after a few minutes of silence and half his beer. "When I left town, she was this well-mannered, respectful kid. Now, her mouth needs a filter, she hates school, she sneaks out of the house…" he trailed off to finish his beer. "Just since I last saw her in December, she's changed so much."

"Yeah," Stanley agreed. "Thankfully, Bonnie's not tearing it up like Elizabeth, but she's decided that she likes this punk kid from the Pines. I keep trying to tell her he's not what she wants, but I don't think I'm getting through. Short of tying her to the front porch, I don't know what to do with a moony girl." He drained his bottle and let the empty join Jake's at the edge of the table.

"You know, I wonder if maybe she's upset with you and Eric moving away," he said. He'd been around Elizabeth more these last five years than Jake; he might be able to help his friend figure out what was going on with her. Holding up his hand to stop Jake from speaking, he continued. "Now, wait a second, Jake. Just bear with me. Remember how much trouble I had with Bonnie about starting kindergarten? How she didn't want to leave me? I finally resorted to taking her to a therapist up in Rogue River because it was interfering with my running the farm. I was still learning the business end of it all, and you know that's never been my thing.

"Well, after we met with the head doc a couple times, she told me she thought Bonnie was suffering from an abandonment issue from our parents dying. That Bonnie was afraid if she went to school, one day I wouldn't be there for her. It took us a long time to get her to believe that I wouldn't leave her as well. That's why I decided against that evening class. She couldn't sleep if I wasn't home at night.

"When Eric got married, he and April moved into their house. Then shortly after that, you took that promotion and got relocated. Elizabeth was what, ten or eleven, when you left? If Emily handled it badly, how do you think a kid would? You're her family and you left her."

Mary replaced their bottles with fresh ones as she walked the booths. Jake sat back in the corner and thought over Stanley's theory. He didn't know enough about psychology to just accept it, but he could see the parallels to Bonnie's case. And El was acting a lot like he used to, before she came along. There had to be something buried pretty deep in her brain that was causing her to stay angry. Stanley interrupted his thoughts.

"Man, remember when we thought having to get up in the middle of the night to sit with a sick kid was tough?"

Jake nodded, grinning. "I swear I only got, at most, two hours of sleep every night senior year. El either had an ear infection or her colic kept me up. Mom and Dad offered to help, but she was my responsibility. _And_ her crib was in my room."

"Is it bad if I would take a million of those nights again if it meant I didn't have to deal with raising a teenage Bonnie?" Stanley asked.

"If it is, then I'm just as bad," Jake admitted. "At least then we knew what to do to help them when they needed it."

Clinking bottles in agreement, they drank.

"You know, I never really did understand teenage girls, but it's worse now."

* * *

Elizabeth pulled a sweatshirt over her head as she limped out of her room into the darkened hallway. Passing Jake's bedroom, she heard a creak as she stepped on the betraying floorboard. For the last three years her window had been her means of escape into the night, but her injury was forcing her to improvise. And for two nights in a row now, she had forgotten she needed to slide along the wall outside Jake's room. She held her breath and stopped in place, hoping no one had heard.

"El, is that you?" she heard Jake say. '_Damn it! Why'd he have to leave his door open?' _She stepped into his room to find his shadow sitting up in bed.

"Sorry if I woke you, Jake."

"I wasn't sleeping." Jake turned on the lamp on the nightstand. "Going someplace?" he asked.

"Kitchen. I'm thirsty."

"With your shoes on?" Jake said with a smirk. He had no intention of letting her off easy.

Elizabeth didn't reply; she just stared at him. Jake accepted the challenge. It had been ten months since their last staring contest.

_El had just come for her visit over Christmas break. They'd spent the day doing the tourist bit, and were just settling down to dinner at home when Jake was called to another last-minute briefing. In a rush to get to it on time, he'd left the operations file he'd reviewed out on his desk instead of returning it to the safe. After two long hours of nothing, he'd come back to the apartment. The file was still on the desk, but several of the pages had been shuffled out of order. El knew not to go through any of his business file; she'd been read the riot act every time she visited. He had walked into her room and asked her if there was anything she wanted to tell him. The battle had lasted five minutes before Elizabeth broke and admitted she had looked at the file._

Jake predicted that she'd be the first to break tonight as well. He was right.

"Why weren't you sleeping?" she asked, toeing off her running shoes. She pushed at him until he moved over to let her sit down next to him on the bed, their backs resting against the headboard. She pulled the pillow out from behind her and clutched it in her lap.

"It's too quiet," Jake answered, opting for the lesser reason.

"So, Japan was loud, I take it?"

"Bright, too. My apartment was in the heart of downtown Tokyo. The lights and noise were like…"

"New York?" Elizabeth finished, remembering Jake's luxury apartment near Central Park. She loved the apartment, not only for its beauty and the breathtaking view it offered, but for being right in the heart of New York. The floor-to-ceiling windows in his 35th floor apartment offered an extraordinary view of the city, but it had been difficult to get used to nights filled with lights.

"Yeah," Jake said, nodding.

"I have a confession to make" Elizabeth said. She glanced at Jake, then looked down at the pillow in her lap. "The other day I told Stanley that you had been in Japan. He doesn't know any details. Just that your flight came in from Tokyo. We were talking about the night of the bomb and then he asked when you got back to town." She plucked at the pillow. "And I didn't mean to tell him. It just kind of slipped out. I didn't mean to. I'm sorry," she said quickly, all in one breath, as she avoided his eyes.

"It's okay," Jake said.

"I'm sorry. I promised that I wouldn't…" she started before Jake put his hand under her chin and turned her face towards him.

"It's okay, El. You don't have to apologize. Really. It's okay," he reassured her. "Okay?" She feigned a smile. Finally conceding she wouldn't be leaving the house tonight, she took off her sweatshirt and tossed it on the end of the bed.

"So, who were you going to meet?" Jake asked.

"What?"

"Who were you sneaking out to meet?"

"No one," she replied. From the way she said it, Jake knew she was telling him the truth.

"So why…"

"I couldn't sleep, okay?" Elizabeth interrupted him. "And, before you ask, I don't know why. Okay?"

"Okay." He put his arm around her and hugged her to himself. Jake knew there was more to the story. After everything she'd been through the last few days, though, he didn't want to upset her by prying. He'd do that at a later time. Jake broke the silence a few minutes later. "Can you do something for me?"

Elizabeth looked at him.

"Next time you can't sleep and want to sneak out, come get me. I don't want you out by yourself after dark, so I'll either go out with you or we'll stay here and do something. Okay?"

She thought for a moment. If she agreed, it would prevent her from spending time alone by herself or with Jordan. If she didn't agree, she suspected Jake would be leaving his door open every night. Either way, it appeared that her late-night solo runs and private time with Jordan wouldn't be happening anymore. Not seeing any options, she finally agreed, hoping she could find a loophole later on.

"Yeah, I guess it'd be nice to have another running partner. With her leg out of commission for the next few weeks, Heather won't be able to go with me." She laid her head against his shoulder like when she'd been a kid, just focusing on the rhythm of his breathing. She could feel her body relaxing finally, falling into the same rhythm.

"Hey, El? I'm sorry your birthday didn't go as planned."

Elizabeth shrugged. "No big deal. The people that matter most were there and everyone was safe. That's all that matters."

"You know who I didn't see there?" Jake said. Elizabeth looked at him again. "Sara and Lauren." Elizabeth stiffened at the mention of her childhood friends, then pulling away from his arms, stood up and walked towards the door.

"El?" Jake said, concerned as he got up to stop her. He grabbed her arm and turned her around to face him. She avoided his eyes, instead focusing on the carpet. "El?" he repeated.

"They died. In Topeka," she replied before she pulled loose of Jake's grasp and left the room.


	5. Chapter 3A

Disclaimer: Same as usual: I don't own Jericho or any of its' characters. CBS has that honor. But Elizabeth and her friends are all mine.

A/N: I have not posted a new chapter in nearly seven months, for several reasons. I strongly suggest you read/reread the other chapters first so you understand how this one begins. I want to thank Skyrose and Midnight, from JFF, for all of their hardwork. Their phone calls and emails really helped refine this chapter. I also would love to hear your feedback...good or bad. It's the only I can improve my writing and please my readers.

* * *

Jake had followed Elizabeth into her bedroom, but she adamantly refused to discuss the death of her friends any further. He finally gave up and headed back to his own room. She knew he was worried about her and, in all honesty, he had a right to be. But she needed to deal with this her way. For now, that meant keeping him in the dark about the things she went through when the accident happened. Only when she was ready would she tell him everything. After he left, she pulled out the rarely looked at photo album from the bottom drawer of her desk, curled up on the papasan chair under a blanket, and allowed the memories of times past to keep her awake until the sun was just coming up on the horizon.

She had washed up, dressed, and was in the kitchen before Dad; a steaming cup of coffee waiting for him when he joined her fifteen minutes later. Elizabeth was glad when their hour turned into an hour and a half and Jake had yet to make an appearance; she didn't want the reminder that sooner or later she would have to talk to him about Lauren and Sara.

Johnston had been surprised by the sudden transformation of Elizabeth. She was extremely animated and talkative. It was as if things had gone back to normal and she was no longer the reserved kid she had become over the last few months. Gail joined them at 6:30. After talking for over an hour, and promising Mom she'd take it easy on her leg, Elizabeth left the house for the day.

She walked the three blocks to the two-story house on the corner and knocked on the door. Normally she was welcome to walk right in, but considering how high-strung everyone was she figured it was better to announce herself. She had not planned on coming here today; her original plan was to meet Heather at the elementary school after her staff meeting, then go to her house from there. But, after the events of last night, she decided she needed to make a stop at the Caseys' first.

The door opened to reveal a slender brunette woman. "Oh. Good morning, Elizabeth. How are you?"

"Good morning, Mrs. Casey." Elizabeth smiled then said, "I'm okay. How are you?"

"Late," Joanne Casey said, checking her watch. "Please, come inside while I finish getting ready." Elizabeth stepped into the house, closing the door behind her. Mrs. Casey picked her earrings off of the hall entry table and put them on as she looked towards Elizabeth.

"I know Jordan's grounded, but would it be okay if I see him for a few minutes? I need to talk to him about something," Elizabeth asked, "I'll be quick about it since you're leaving soon."

"Tell you what. I'll let you stay until I get back from my meeting with the school board if you promise to keep him from leaving the house again," Mrs. Casey offered as she grabbed her jacket out of the coat closet and put it on. "Go ahead and help yourself to whatever you'd like from the kitchen. Jordan's in his room; probably still asleep." She grabbed her purse off of the table and opened the door. Before she left, she turned to face Elizabeth again. "Please try to keep him out of trouble; you're really the only one he listens to."

Elizabeth promised, bid her goodbye, and waited until she left before she headed up the stairs. She made her way to the room at the end of the hall, quietly pushed the door open, and stepped inside. His mother had been right. Jordan was asleep; his comforter only covering everything below his waist. She smiled at the scene before her. The weight training required for all varsity baseball players had done Jordan well. She quietly shut the door, removed her jacket, hanging it over his desk chair, and toed off her shoes. She walked over to the bed and climbed under the covers. Leaning over, she kissed him, letting her lips linger on his for awhile, then snuggled down against him, her head on his shoulder. His arms immediately came around her, one coming to rest on her hip.

"I'm not supposed to have any visitors," Jordan mumbled, half asleep, inhaling the familiar scent of lavender in her hair.

"Your mom's letting me stay."

"For how long?" he asked.

"'Til she gets back from her meeting," she told him, shivering involuntarily as his fingers moved down her leg.

His fingers stopped their dance on her thigh and he finally opened his eyes. Grinning, he said, "She left us alone?"

"She trusts us," Elizabeth told him. Although it wouldn't surprise her if Jordan's parents suspected they were more than friends, Joanne Casey did not seem to have any worries about anything serious happening in Jordan's bedroom. If she had, she certainly would not have left Elizabeth and Jordan alone in the house on numerous previous occasions. If either Mr. or Mrs. Casey were to walk into the room this very moment, they wouldn't be shocked that Elizabeth was in Jordan's bed. She and Jordan had been falling asleep in each other's arms for three years. It was one of the ways they were able to deal with their PTSD. They understood each other and were able to offer one another a level of comfort that no one else-not their parents, the counselors they saw, or the other survivors of the accident-could.

"Or maybe she just wanted someone to keep an eye on you. She told me to keep you from leaving the house. Seems you've been a bad boy…" Her tone was teasing before she was interrupted.

"Well, I know one way you could keep me from leaving," he said, tilting her face up with his hand so he could kiss her.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm too tired to make-out," she replied once she broke away from the kiss moments later. "I just want to lay here with you, nap maybe."

"I'm not disappointed. As long as I'm with you, it doesn't matter what we do." He pulled her closer. They lay there for a few minutes in complete silence. He thought she might have fallen asleep, but the sound of her breathing told him differently. "So, why are you so tired?"

"Jake caught me sneaking out last night. We talked for a little bit and he ended up asking about Lauren and Sara. And, well, you know how it goes from there."

He nodded. "Yeah, flashbacks."

"You know, after not having one for so long I'd hoped they were gone for good," she admitted. "Kinda stupid of me, huh?"

"No, we've all had times when we've hoped that, but I don't think they'll ever go away completely. The triggers are always gonna be out there."

"Yeah, you're right. I just wish mine weren't as bad as they are. I mean, yours are bad but…"

"Yours are worse," he finished for her. She nodded in agreement.

"I wish that for you, too. But, I don't see how they could be anything other than that severe. You were in there longer than the rest of us. You watched them…die. The rest of us were outside in the rain listening to their screams, but you…" he trailed off when she shuddered. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have—"

She shook her head, interrupting him, "No it's okay. I don't mind talking about it with you, and I can't always avoid talking about it with everyone else either." She paused for a moment. "Although, I am trying to put off telling Jake as long as I can," she admitted.

"He still doesn't know all the details?"

"Nope," she confirmed, scooting up so her head rested on the pillow next to his.

"I still don't know how you've managed to keep it from him all this time. I remember how you used to tell him everything when we were little. Even when it was something that you'd get in trouble for." His hand moved underneath the hem of her shirt, to her lower back, slowly moving its way up.

"Yeah, still not sure how I managed to convince him that nightmare in San Diego was nothing." She shrugged. "I learned how to lie and be secretive from watching him, I guess." She gently grabbed his wrist and moved his hand away from the hooks of her bra. While she would've loved to make the most of their private time, she knew it was wiser not to. It would be next to impossible for either of them to exercise the control needed. "He hasn't seen the scar yet."

"He doesn't even know about it, does he?" he asked, his finger tracing along the still slightly raised scar just below her bra line before withdrawing his hand. "Or did you finally tell him that your broken arm wasn't your only injury?"

"No."

"Hey, speaking of scars… can I see the one on your leg?"

Elizabeth put her hand on his chest, where she could feel his strong steady heartbeat. "Not now. Maybe after the stitches come out," she told him. She raised her eyebrow and grinned before adding, "If you're lucky, that is."

Jordan smiled back at her; they both knew that sooner or later he'd be seeing a lot more than just her thigh. Contented for now, his hand moved back under her shirt, leaving it to rest on the warm skin just above the waistband of her low-waist jeans.

"So, what's going on with your dad?" Elizabeth asked. Usually a happy presence throughout town, Greg Casey had made himself scarce in the days since the bombs. Even at the cookout the other night, Elizabeth had noticed that he wasn't being his usual social self; he'd spent the entire evening glued to his seat next to his wife. It even seemed like Joanne was having a hard time getting him to talk. Elizabeth had asked Jordan about it, but he clearly had not been up to discussing it around the others.

Jordan sighed. "I think he's going to start drinking again." _'And it terrifies the hell out of me.'_

Elizabeth sat up in bed. "What? Why?"

Greg had been sober for almost three years, and, although she knew there was always a chance he would return to the bottle, she always thought he would be sober for the rest of his life. It had been his decision, after all, to go cold turkey.

_Elizabeth was there that evening, working on a school project with Jordan, when Greg had come home drunk and angry. Joanne simply greeted him, but he started yelling at her throwing things at the wall. He was so drunk that he didn't even notice the kids in the room. He had taken two steps closer to his wife, with his arm raised ready to hit her, when thirteen year old Jordan intervened. He'd tried to pull his father away from Joanne while pleading with him to stop. One look at his son's tear-streaked face, and the fear in his eyes, gave Greg the wake-up call he desperately needed. He headed upstairs alone, lost in thought, eventually passing out. He never picked up a bottle again. _

Jordan rolled over onto his back, put his hands behind his head and looked up at her. "Because of what happened last week and the bomb in Denver. Now they're all dead." Jordan sighed again and got out of bed. He picked up a pair of sweatpants from the floor and pulled them on over his boxers. He then walked over to the window and turned back to face Elizabeth, grateful for the fact that she was being patient. She knew he wasn't close to any of his extended family, but still it was hard for him to talk about it. He also knew that she wouldn't be offended if he decided to end the conversation right now. He'd wanted to tell her about the phone call a few nights before the bombs went off, but he never really had the chance. They had always been with their friends; and then the world went to hell. The only time they had really been alone together was during their walk the other night, but he hadn't wanted to be the one to ruin their happy conversation. He leaned back against the wall and put his hands in the pockets of his sweatpants.

It was rare for him to talk about his family, and even rarer for Jordan to bring them up in conversation. She had a feeling since a few days before the bombs that he wanted to tell her something away from the others, but they had never been left alone long enough for him to do so. She probably could have asked him about it the other night during their walk but she hadn't wanted to be the one to ruin the upbeat, good spirited conversation they were having. Her eyes followed him around the room as he pulled on his pants and then headed to the window. She didn't say anything; instead, she was patient and gave him the time he needed.

"Two nights before the bombs my uncle called and said he wanted to come visit with my cousins and grandparents." He took a deep breath and looked out the window. "Dad told him no. They argued and Dad finally hung up the phone. He was mad and confused about the unexpected phone call- I mean, my dad hasn't talked to any of them in three years, not since the last time they called to borrow money - but you could tell he wasn't even considering taking a drink. But then when the bomb went off…" he trailed off and shook his head. "They all died in the blast; they had to, right? And Dad blames himself. He regrets not letting them come visit." Jordan hung his head and stared at his bare feet.

Elizabeth got up and walked over to him, stopping when there were a few inches of space between them. He shifted his body a little bit but didn't look at her. She reached out and put her hand on his bare chest. "Your dad did the right thing, and he had good reason to assume Jason was only calling to borrow money. Knowing your uncle, he probably would have come to visit and left with some of your mom's jewelry to pawn…again. I know it's not—"

"The thing is, though, it's not bothering me like it should. I should be upset that they're dead, but I'm not. I'm just worried about my dad." Jordan lifted his head and looked at her, tears in his eyes. "I don't want him to start drinking again."

"I don't either, but if he does, we'll deal with it together." She moved closer to him. "Okay?"

He gazed into her eyes for a few moments. "What kind of person doesn't care when their family dies?"

"A person whose family hurt them in one way or another." She let her hand drop down to his hip. "Just because you're not upset now, doesn't mean you never will be. Right now, the hurt you feel is outweighing the love."

"Love? I'm not sure I'd—"

"Yes, love. They're family, even when you hate them, you're still going to love them. They stole from you and your parents, they did mean things; and you've been waiting a long time for an apology and never got one. That's why you're still too angry to be sad."

He hung his head again as a solitary tear rolled down his cheek. He sniffled, and then cleared his throat. "They caused Dad to drink last time. Now they're dead and they're going to cause him to do it again."

She took another step forward, her right foot was between both of his and she could feel the heat radiating off his body. She reached up, letting her thumb wipe his cheek, then he started to cry. "Let it out, Jord. It's okay."

She wrapped her arms around him, pulling him close. He resisted at first, then finally took his hands out of his pockets and hugged her back. He buried his face in her neck, grateful that he could talk to her about serious matters, even cry, and she never thought any less of him; she never thought he was weak. She held on to him for a few minutes, then released him when she heard him catching his breath. "I'll give you a few minutes, 'kay? I'll meet you downstairs."

* * *

Jake ambled into the kitchen and collapsed tiredly into a chair, resting his face on the table like he had when he was a child. Gail and Johnston gave each other curious looks across the table. Jake looked terrible, like he hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. He still looked pissed about being stonewalled yesterday. Gail got up, took a mug out of the cabinet, and filled it with some coffee. Sitting back down, she put the mug in his hand. Jake raised his head, glanced at the mug, mumbled a thank you, and took a sip.

"Jake, honey, you look—" Gail started to say.

"Exhausted? Pissed? Concerned? Worried?" Jake interrupted. "Take your pick, Mom." He knew it came out sounding more abrupt than he intended, but, frankly, he didn't care. He never imagined that coming back home would have him more scared than when he had been hunting down ruthless criminals. His daughter had been in turmoil for years, and he was only just now finding out about it. He didn't know all the details, but he was starting to piece it all together. Now, if he could only corner El—or anybody really—into telling him.

"Jake, son, there's no need—"

"Why didn't you tell me kids died in the accident?" Johnston and Gail looked at each other, then back at Jake. One thing that had not changed over the last five years was Jake's tendency to explode when things were not going his way. "Why didn't you tell me about Lauren and Sara?"

"She told you?" Gail couldn't hide her surprise. "When?"

"Last night after I caught her trying to sneak out again," Jake replied. "She told me, then went to her room. I gave her some time then went to talk to her, but she just blew me off. Is that what her episodes are about, the accident?" Yelling and standing now, he continued: "You never said anyone died. You never said her best friends died!

Gail tried to explain. "Jake, we promised to let her—"

"I don't care what you promised her! She's my daughter and I should've been told about it!"

Johnston tried, unsuccessfully, to bite his tongue. "Now you know what it's like to be your parents."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Johnston, maybe now's not the—" Gail knew exactly where this conversation was headed, and it wasn't good.

"No, Mom, let him say it; he obviously has something he needs to get off his chest." Jake turned his attention to his father. "Well, Dad?"

Gail might come to regret it, but she let them continue.

Johnston stared at the mug in his hand. "All I'm saying is, it would've been nice if you had told us where you were, what you were doing. It's not easy being left out in the dark when it comes to your kids."

Jake was quiet for a moment. "You know I can't talk about my job, Dad, you knew from the beginning I wouldn't be able to." Jake returned to his seat and coffee.

"But it was okay for you to tell Elizabeth?" Johnston asked, looking his oldest son directly in the eyes. He had never approved of Jake telling her things and then asking her to keep quiet about it. He believed that doing so placed a huge burden on her young shoulders. It might even possibly explain why her attitude and behavior had gradually become worse over the years.

"What I tell her is my business," Jake replied. "Not yours."

"It is my business, too, Son. It's your mother's business and Eric's. April's. Even Stanley's." He held up his hand to stop Jake from protesting. "Things were hard enough for her when your brother got married and moved out; then you left for D.C. a few days before 9/11. I don't think she understood the severity of what was happening until she saw the footage of the Pentagon. Even though you called to tell us you were okay, she was scared to death that you were going to get hurt or die."

"She'd probably hate me if she knew I was telling you this, but for some reason she thought you would be here for her birthday. She waited up the entire night before her party for you to come home. When Eric showed up early the next morning he found her asleep by the window. When he woke her up and she realized you hadn't come home…" He trailed off as he thought back to that scene. "She started crying and it took him nearly an hour to get her to stop. And then when you didn't even call her…" Johnston shook his head. "The only reason she got through her party without crying was because of Eric. He and April ended up taking her to their house for the night because she wouldn't let him out of her sight; she was afraid that he was going to leave in the middle of the night, just like you did."

He'd let that sit with Jake for awhile. He hadn't intended on bringing it up, but Jake needed to learn that his actions had lasting consequences on his daughter.

The tension in the room was overwhelming to Jake. He didn't know what to think. He certainly had no idea that his leaving was just as hard, if not harder, on El as it was on him. It was true; he never got the chance to call her on her birthday. He had his boss and South America to blame for that. But, when he did call two days later and talked to her; she seemed to be taking everything in stride.

'_I'm sorry I couldn't be there, El. Did you have a good time?" Jake asked as he looked out at Copacabana Beach from his hotel room balcony. He had been in Rio de Janeiro for a week, having flown here after moving into his new apartment. He knew he'd miss her, but he had no idea that it would hurt so much to be so far away. If there had been any possible way to do so, he wouldn't have left until after her eleventh birthday. With any luck, they'd quickly gather enough intel on the drug lord they were tracking, and Jake would be back stateside before Christmas. Even though he wouldn't be heading back to Jericho, he would at least be able to buy a plane ticket for El to come visit him for the second half of her winter break. She could spend Christmas in Jericho and New Years in D.C., with him. _

"_Yeah, but Lauren couldn't come."_

"_Why not?" The day he left, the girls had been excited about the upcoming birthday celebration, even though it was still over three weeks away. Their excitement grew larger when they found out that El's birthday was falling on a teacher in-service day. A birthday party and a day off from school made them overjoyed with anticipation._

"_She's got chickenpox."_

"_She _has_ chickenpox," he corrected. "I know you were looking forward to her being there. I'm sorry she couldn't make it."_

"_It's okay. Mom and Dad said she can come sleep over one night when she gets better. Sara's gonna come too. And April said she's gonna take us shopping and to get a manicure," she told him excitedly. _

"_A manicure?" _'Seems like yesterday she was in diapers, now she's old enough to get a manicure?'

"_Yeah, you know, get our nails painted and stuff." Even being 7,500 miles away from her, he knew she was rolling her eyes at him. _

_Chuckling, he replied: "Yeah. Well, that sounds fun. Don't spend too much of April's money, though." _

"_I won't. Grandpa gave me some money to spend."_

"_He did? How much did he give you?" Jake knew it was way more than was necessary. E. J. spoiled El, that was certain, but then again they all did in their own way. After all, she was the first girl born into the Green family for five generations. He was sure that line of reasoning wasn't acceptable to most people, but it worked for the Greens'. _

"_Well, he only gave me two twenties, but he put a lot more in my bank account. But, you know, only him and Mom can get it out for me," she explained. "I think there's a lot in there now, like four-hundred somethin'."_

_Jake smiled at that. _'More like a few thousand, El' _"Well, I think you should only take twenty with you on your shopping trip. That's more than enough, don't you think?" _

"_Yeah, I guess so," she agreed. "Hey, Jake, dinner's ready. Are you gonna call me tomorrow?"_

"_I'm going to try, El. I can't promise, but I'll try. Okay?" _'If I could, I'd call you three times a day.'

"_Okay. Bye, Jake." _

"_Bye, El. I—" he was cut off as she hung up and he heard the dial tone, "—love you." _

_He never did make it back stateside for Christmas. After leaving Brazil, he had spent eleven months in Iraq, then relocated to San Diego. Only then was El able to come visit him. His boss had given him four weeks with no chance of having to travel, so he bought a plane ticket for El and she stayed with him that entire time. They spent most of their time at the beach where Jake taught her how to surf. She was only twelve and Jake was uncomfortable leaving her alone in his apartment, so he had dragged her to a few of his meetings. She sat at his desk watching movies on the portable DVD player he bought her while he spent an hour or two, sometimes more, in a soundproof, windowless room down the hall. He knew she hated having to sit alone in a strange office while he was in his briefing, even if she never vocalized it. He talked to her about it, apologized, and told her that he didn't like that the meetings took away from their time together either. _

"She understands why I couldn't be there, Dad. Maybe she even forgives me," Jake finally said. "And, I think I've made up for it. I never missed calling her on her birthday ever again, and I never went more than a few days without talking to her." Exhaustion was taking over again and he rubbed his eyes, trying to rid them of sleep.

"Maybe she does forgive you, Son, maybe she does," Johnston agreed, nodding. "But would she if she knew you had a choice? She—"

Surprised, Jake interrupted. "You told me you supported my decision to leave! Now, suddenly, you don't?"

Johnston sighed. "I did, Jake. I did support you…at the time."

"Why did it change?"

"Because of the girl I raised as my own. Because of the teenager she has become." He sighed again. "After spending almost every single morning of the last four years with her, I've come to know her better than anyone. She's strong; the kid's got guts. I don't have to worry about anyone trying to take advantage of her because she'd kick their ass in a heartbeat. She's bright; I think sometimes too much for her own good. That's why her mouth gets her in trouble. She's got a good heart and she means well, and overall, she loves life. She's a generally happy kid, who, I know without a doubt, is going to do something to make a positive difference in this world.

"But, at the same time, when she's in pain it cripples her. It's rare for her to show anyone that pain, but she's always been like that, I guess. I don't support your decision any more because of everything you've missed: those day-to-day moments that have turned her into an amazingly self-sufficient, strong, beautiful young woman. There's many incredible firsts during early childhood that you were here for, thank God, but there were just as many, perhaps more meaningful ones in the long run, over the last five years that you missed. And, you can't get them back, Jake. When she ran in States this past spring we were all there. April and Eric. Even Stanley gave up working the farm for the day to drive with Bonnie to cheer her on. Elizabeth was happy, having a great time, but I could see in her eyes that something was missing; she wanted you there. When she—"

"Dad—"

"You've listened to me this long, you might as well let me finish." He waited until Jake nodded, then continued. "She broke three school records last year, Jake; records that were set seventeen years ago. You missed all of it, Son, and you can't get any of it back. And, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking I'm disappointed in you, mad at you even, but I'm not. I'm mad at myself for supporting your decision. I should've thought about all the things you'd miss out on. I played a part in keeping you from witnessing milestones in your daughter's life." Johnston stood up and headed out of the room. Before exiting, he said, "I'm sorry, Son."

Stunned, Jake sat back in his chair. He hadn't had such a serious discussion with his father in, well, in forever. He wasn't even sure he ever had before. They had finally come to an understanding. He wondered if his father and Stanley had ever discussed Elizabeth's behavior; they both seemed to share the belief that she was angry that both Jake and Eric had left her. After a few minutes, Jake came out of his silent trance and was surprised to see his mother still sitting there, looking at him.

"You agree with him that I'm a lousy father?"

She covered his hand with hers. "Oh, honey, your father doesn't think that. Neither do I. He just wishes you could've been here."

"I didn't plan on being gone for so long. I wish I could've been here, too." Jake dropped his head back into his hands.

Gail reached out and squeezed one of his hands. "You're not a bad father, Jake. If you were, would Elizabeth look up to you the way she does? She loves her big brother…and, one day, she's going to love you for who you really are, her father. And if your behavior the last few days means anything, I think you want to tell her sometime soon."

* * *

A half hour and a shower later, Jordan was fully composed so he headed downstairs. Stepping into the living room, he spotted Elizabeth lying on the couch, asleep. He thought for a moment if he should wake her. He made his decision and walked over to the couch. He kneeled down and, being careful not to touch any part of her, whispered: "Hey, Sleeping Beauty. Time to wake up." Elizabeth shifted slightly, but didn't open her eyes. He blew softly on her ear; an act he thought would surely get her attention. Nothing. He tried again. Nothing. He frowned and then caressed her cheek with his thumb. "Liz, babe, wake up; you fell asleep on me."

She opened her eyes and looked at him, her face taking on a pouting look. "You know, I'm a bit disappointed that I didn't get woken up properly." He looked confused. "You never did watch _Sleeping Beauty, _did you?"

"I'm a guy, Ninja Turtles and Power Rangers were more my thing."

"If the power ever comes back on, I'm going to make you watch Sleeping Beauty with me. Then you'll understand," she told him. When he didn't lose the confused look, she decided to just explain it to him. "Sleeping Beauty could only wake up when she was kissed by her true love. So, next time you're going to have to do better."

"Next time?" He gave her a sly grin. "Couldn't I try to make up for it now?" He leaned down and kissed her. Within seconds, she had wrapped her arms around his neck and had dragged him onto the couch with her. After pulling apart, Elizabeth looked up at him as he ran his thumb along her lips. He locked his eyes with hers and smiled. "So, uh, how'd I do?"

"Okay." She reached up and brushed an errant lock of damp hair off his forehead as she felt her cheeks flush and tried to slow her racing heartbeat. She smiled as she stared into his emerald eyes.

"Okay?" he asked, as he moved off of Elizabeth to sit up. "Only okay?"

Swinging her legs off of the couch, she sat up and scooted over to fit into Jordan's embrace. "Okay meaning if you ever—" she placed a kiss on his lips, "forget the proper way to wake Sleeping Beauty again—" she kissed him again, "then you better make up for it like you just did." She kissed him once more, then stood up, smoothing out her now-wrinkled shirt. She held her hand out and he accepted it, letting her pull him up. It was too risky to stay on the couch in case Mrs. Casey came home from her meeting. It'd be safer in the kitchen, making breakfast.

* * *

After the conversation with his father, Jake headed upstairs. There were too many thoughts running through his mind to go back to bed. Instead, he relied on the cold water of the shower to wake him up. Only partially satisfied with the results; he made his way to the living room, where he found both of his parents, sitting in their respective chairs, reading. Jake leaned against the wall of the room, his eyes darting back and forth between his parents and the view of the street out the window.

"What is it, Jake?" The question came from Johnston, who had set his book down on the arm of the chair and was staring at his son. Gail looked up from her reading.

Jake turned to face them. "Besides the fact that none of you will tell me what's going on with Elizabeth?" he snapped at them. Jake sighed, "Sorry." He then moved to the couch. Sitting, he rubbed his hand over the stubble on his chin.

"Jake, honey, what is it?" Gail asked, her book also being set aside.

Jake was quiet for a few moments and then looked up. "You remember the night El was born?" His question was received with confused looks on his parents' faces. Of course, they remembered that night; they had been there for her birth.

Johnston decided to humor his son. "Yeah, it is kind of hard to forget 20 hours of labor, your terrified face, and Elizabeth's first cries. As loud as she was, we should've known then she'd like to run off at the mouth."

"Yeah, and I remember how you couldn't take your eyes off of her and wouldn't let anyone else hold her," Gail added.

"She had you wrapped around her finger from second one," Eric said, stepping into the room. He had stopped by to talk to Jake and Johnston. "Who would've thought that a newborn would be the one to get you back on the right track, especially after Mom, Dad, Grandpa, even Emily, tried."

Jake looked pained at Eric's last comment. He had worked so hard to change his life, but no one seemed to be able to forget the stupid things he'd done as a punk kid.

"Relax, Jake, it's a joke." Eric sat down next to him on the couch. Jake decided to brush it off.

"Remember what we agreed that night? That when the time was right, we'd tell her the truth?" They all nodded. "I want to tell her, not this very second, but sometime soon. I mean, I've always wanted to tell her, but it's never felt right. Ever since last Christmas, I've felt like I need to tell her. I've kept enough secrets the last five years, I don't want to keep this one any longer. I _can't _keep this one any longer. It's making me crazy, especially after the last few days. There have been so many moments when I've had to remind myself that I'm supposed to be the 'big brother', not a concerned father."

"When are you thinking about telling her?" Johnston asked.

"I don't know." Jake shook his head. "I don't know when the right time will be."

"There's never going to be a 'right time', Jake," Eric noted, worried about how Elizabeth would react to the news. She was already a loose cannon, she might explode when she found out.

"Yeah," Jake agreed, softly. "But, I think I know a way it might make it easier for her to take it."

"How?" Gail inquired.

"I told you my first day back that I was here for good and I meant it. The attacks haven't changed my mind, instead it's confirmed that I want to be here." Jake made eye contact with each member of his family. "I'm going to look at some houses today and I want El to move in with me."

* * *

"Elizabeth, I hope he didn't ask you to make him breakfast," Joanne Casey said, stepping into the dining room followed by Heather. She knew her son was fully capable of cooking for himself, but he had a tendency to get lazy when someone else was around to do it for him. Elizabeth and Jordan were sitting at the table; remnants of toast, omelets and fresh cantaloupe pieces on the plates in front of them. Having decided to forgo breakfast this morning at her own home, Elizabeth had joined Jordan in making his.

"Hey, Heather," Elizabeth greeted cheerfully as she set down her glass of orange juice, then answered Mrs. Casey. "No, Ma'am. We made it together." Picking up a plate of the fruit, she continued, "There's extra. Want some?"

"That's okay. You kids finish it up if you want it." Joanne and Heather pulled out the two other chairs and sat down.

"I don't know about Jordan but I'm all done," Elizabeth replied. She glanced at Jordan and gave him a smile that Heather and Joanne thought was friendly but Jordan knew was far from innocent. He knew she was thinking about the other times they had made breakfast together. Several times during the past summer, both the Caseys' and the Greens' had gone out of town during the same weekends, leaving the teenagers in Jericho.

Both teens had stayed home by themselves, but Eric and April had checked in on Elizabeth several times throughout the day. Elizabeth had made sure she was in the house when Eric came to check on her on his way home from the office every night but would head to Jordan's in the middle of the night. They'd watch movies all night, then have an early breakfast together. Elizabeth would be home in time for April's morning check in. Both teens had known there would be serious consequences if Jimmy, Bill, or anyone else had caught Elizabeth roaming the streets at night, but it had been a risk they were willing to take. "So, Heather, what are you doing here?"

Taking the glass of orange juice Elizabeth had poured for her, Heather answered. "Joanne and I were talking after the meeting and I told her you're supposed to be coming over today. She told me you were here and invited me over." She took a drink then set her glass down.

Noticing that Jordan had done nothing more than glance at Heather before returning his attention to his plate, Elizabeth brought her foot into deliberate contact with his shin. He jumped a little in his seat at the contact then looked at her, glaring. She nodded her head in Heather's direction, urging him to do what they had discussed while they made breakfast.

He turned his attention to Heather, making his eyes meet hers. "Ms. Lisinski, I'm sorry about the other day in the mine. Things were crazy enough, I shouldn't have made it more difficult for you." He had already apologized to Eric and Jimmy for his actions back at the mine, but he hadn't felt it was necessary to apologize to Heather until Elizabeth mentioned it. She had made him see that his behavior had only made things worse for everyone at the mine. And she'd done so without yelling at him or making him feel overly guilty the way his parents had. Even so, it was one thing to know he should do it, and another to actually have to.

"It's ancient history, Jordan, but thank you," Heather told him as she took the plate of fruit Joanne passed her.

"How'd the meeting go, Mom?" Jordan asked. Joanne taught fifth grade at Jericho Elementary and this morning's meeting with the school board was to determine when school would be back in session.

"The elementary school will start up again on the fifteenth," Joanne told her son.

"What about the high school?" Elizabeth asked.

"Unfortunately, it probably won't be for awhile," Joanne replied. "Unlike at the elementary school, a lot of the high school teachers left after the attacks to go check on their families. The ones who are still here decided to wait a little longer to see if any of them will come back."

"How long are they going to wait?" Jordan asked. It wasn't that he really wanted to go back to school, but by doing so he wouldn't be stuck in the house all day and night as were the rules of his current restriction. Even if he did manage to sneak out when his parents were sleeping.

"No longer than the end of the month," Heather answered. "Your mom and I would love to see you back in school the same day as our students, but your teachers wanted otherwise. Sorry, guys."

"No big deal," Jordan said, shrugging. "Besides, if I, or my friends, want to continue our studies before school is back in session we'll just have Liz teach us. We learn more from her than our teachers anyway." He grinned at his mother and Heather, before continuing, "but if we had you two teaching us, Liz wouldn't have to."

Elizabeth returned Jordan's smile. "Thanks, but I really don't do that much, just clarify a few confusing points."

"Don't be so modest," Jordan returned.

The two were staring at each other from across the table, their eyes saying more than words ever could, oblivious to the other occupants of the room. Heather and Joanne looked back and forth between the two teenagers and gave each other knowing smiles. Finally remembering they weren't alone in the room, Elizabeth broke eye contact first.

She stood up, picked up her glass and plate and walked into the kitchen. She set her dishes in the sink, and reached for the dish soap.

"You don't have to do that, Elizabeth. I'll make Jordan wash them later," Joanne said, glancing at her son before continuing, "As part of his punishment."

"Are you sure?" Elizabeth asked, turning around to face Joanne. "I really don't mind—"

"I'm sure. The more chores I give Jordan to do, the less opportunity he has to sneak out of the house." Jordan squirmed in his chair under his mother's glare.

"Okay." Elizabeth walked away from the sink. "I'll go get my shoes and jacket and then we can leave, okay, Heather?"

Heather nodded. "Sure."

Elizabeth left the room and headed up to Jordan's room. She picked up her shoes from the floor then sat on the edge of the bed. She untied the laces of both shoes, slipped one on, and then tied it. As she slipped on the second shoe, the door to Jordan's room closed. She looked up to see Jordan standing there, back against the closed door, a huge grin plastered on his face. Elizabeth shook her head and laughed, then resumed tying her shoe.

"What's so funny?" Jordan asked.

"You," Elizabeth answered, standing up and grabbing her jacket off the back of Jordan's desk chair. "What'd you do? Tell them you needed to help me?"

"No, I'm not that obvious," he replied. "I told them I had to go to the bathroom."

Elizabeth slipped her arms through the sleeves of her jacket as she walked towards him. "Oh, because that won't be obvious when they realize you opted to not use the one downstairs."

Jordan grinned at her. "By the time they realize it I'll already have kissed you goodbye." He cupped her face with his hands and tenderly kissed her. "So, did you really mean it when you said you won't be meeting me in the middle of the night?" he asked, when he pulled back no more than two or three inches.

She nodded. "Give me a little bit of time to convince Jake I'll be good, then we—"

"Can go back to our midnight rendezvous in Stanley's barn?" Jordan interrupted. "You know, we wouldn't have to sneak around if we just told everyone we're dating. I mean, you are sixteen now, you're allowed to date."

"I've got no problem telling your parents, or mine. It's—"

"Your brothers? Specifically Jake?"

She nodded again. "Yeah. It's that whole annoying big brother thing they do."

"Okay. It's no big deal. Just hurry up and convince Jake you're going to be a good girl, 'kay?"

Elizabeth smiled. "Gonna miss me?" She lifted her hand to his chest, grabbing a hold of his t-shirt. "Here's something to hold you over until next time." With that, she pulled him towards her and kissed him passionately. "Listen to your mom. 'Cuz it would suck if I get a chance to come see you and she has you handcuffed to your desk because you got in trouble." She kissed him once more, a mere peck. "Bye."

* * *

"So, how much longer are you and Jordan going to keep your relationship secret?" The question came from Heather as she ushered Elizabeth into her apartment and closed the door. Elizabeth stopped with one arm out of her jacket and looked at Heather. "Don't try to deny it; the way you two were looking at each other—"

Elizabeth blushed. "Were we that obvious?"

"Yes, somewhat," Heather chuckled. She set her keys on the entry table and took off her jacket. Hanging it on the coat rack, she continued, "But, what confirmed it for me was when Jordan followed you upstairs."

Elizabeth giggled as she removed her jacket and hung it on the coat rack. She shook her head. "I told him you wouldn't believe his excuse." She groaned. "Oh, man, what did Mrs. Casey think? Does she know?"

"She has her suspicions, but that's all. She thinks you're good for him. Besides, even if you two weren't dating, it'd only be a matter of time."

"Why do you say that?" Elizabeth followed Heather into the apartment to the dining table, where stacks of notebooks were piled on one end.

"You guys have known each other forever, right? Joanne says you were the only girl that Jordan never said had cooties. And, since the accident, you two have gotten really close. Not to mention, didn't you say he was the boy who kissed you on the cheek at your seventh birthday party?"

"Eighth," Elizabeth corrected. A gleam in Elizabeth's eyes told Heather there was more to the story and she became curious.

"And the next time?" Heather prompted.

Elizabeth avoided her eyes as a blush appeared on her cheeks at the memory of her first real kiss. The day it happened had started on a lousy note; she never imagined it would have ended so wonderfully.

"Elizabeth," Heather said, her voice taking on a nagging tone.

"Okay," Elizabeth said. "It was on the lips at my eleventh birthday party. Although, I think the only one who knows about that is my mom." At least, she hoped that was that case.

"See? It was bound to happen," Heather told her. "How long have you two been going steady?"

"Nine months." Elizabeth flipped through one of the notebooks. "You want me to grade these for you?"

"If you want, but you don't have to. We still have time before school starts up. " Heather turned and, using one of her crutches, headed down the hallway towards her bedroom. "I'm gonna go change out of these clothes."

"Okay." Elizabeth reached for a red marking pen and set to work grading the spelling words in the notebook. When Heather returned a few minutes later, Elizabeth was halfway through with the spelling tests.

Pulling her hair back into a ponytail, Heather asked, "How are they?"

"Overall, pretty good," she replied, looking up. "But Tommy still doesn't understand that there's such a thing as a hard 'c'. He spelled both 'cage' and 'castle' with a 'k'.

"I had a feeling I'd have to spend a bit more one-on-one time with him, I just don't think he's getting much help at home," Heather said. Sighing, she sat down and took the notebook Elizabeth handed her. "Well, at least his writing is more legible now."

"Well, if you want some help, I'd be more than happy to help in your classroom when school starts back up. I could work with Tommy or keep the other ones busy while you do," Elizabeth offered. She passed half of the remaining notebooks to Heather, along with another red marking pen, and then started to grade another test.

"You really want to do that? I mean, you do realize that every other teenager in Jericho is going to use the time off to party and just hang out, don't you?"

"Yeah, and I'll be doing that, too, but I think I'll just find myself getting in more trouble if I don't have something productive to do." She shrugged. "Besides, I like being around the kids." Whether she admitted it to Jake or not, she had taken their talks of the last few days to heart. She was beginning to realize how difficult she was making things for her family. Things at Town Hall got crazy enough for Mom and Dad. Her family deserved the chance to come home and relax at night instead of dealing with her bad attitude and rebellious behavior. Maybe helping out in Heather's classroom would keep her out of trouble.

"More trouble?" Heather questioned. "You got in trouble again? For what?"

"David—I mean, Mr. Cutler—talked to my dad again. Yes! Alright, Lucas!" Elizabeth looked at Heather, ecstatic, as Lucas was one of Elizabeth's favorite kids. "He got his first hundred. I knew he could do it!" She passed the book over to Heather to look at. "I think that deserves a sticker, or at least a smiley face."

"How about both?" Heather asked as she drew a smiley face and then placed a sticker in the top right corner of the page. Removing another sticker, she added: "And, one more for volunteering to go get help the other night." She set Lucas' spelling workbook aside and returned to her pile of workbooks. "You almost done?"

"Two more."

They finished grading the tests then set their pens on the table. Elizabeth looked at Heather, "Hey, you still want to have the Haunted House for Halloween, right? 'Cuz I talked to my Dad and he said we can still use Town Hall."

* * *

Five hours after he left the house, and getting his parents to agree to let El live with him, Jake found himself at Bailey's, considering his options. He had looked at three different houses: one only a few blocks from his childhood home; one near Eric and April's; and one in the Pines. Money wasn't a problem, he had more than enough in his savings to buy even the most expensive of the three. Growing up in small town Jericho, getting to know his neighbors wasn't a factor. Despite being gone for so long, Jake still knew most everyone in town. He generally got along well with everyone, the only exceptions being some of the older citizens—ones who had once fallen victim to his adolescent pranks and destructive behavior, and a few of his peers who he'd had his fair share of fist fights with. His final decision would be based on one thing: Elizabeth.

He had yet to mention to her that he was planning to move out and that he wanted her to come with him. He wasn't sure how she would take to the idea. If she agreed, he wanted her to have a say in where they moved. He was fairly certain she would not want to move to the Pines, even though several of her friends- okay, acquaintances maybe- lived there, and it would give them a lot more room, but, really, how much room would two people need? Seeing as how Elizabeth had become quite close to April and Eric during Jake's absence, he thought that she would choose the place near their house. But, most likely her choice would surprise him. She was, after all, an entirely different kid than the one he remembered. Hell, Jake might even be getting ahead of himself, this, after all, was all going on the assumption that Elizabeth would want to move in with him. For all Jake knew, Elizabeth could tell him she was more than happy to stay with Mom and Dad, she was used to being the only child living at home, after all. Maybe she'd be glad to not have her 'big brother' living down the hall again. He would talk to her when he got home tonight. Jake sighed and signaled for another beer. He knew that the talk he'd have with El tonight would inevitably lead to the other big talk he needed to have with her- the one about her paternity. As much as wanted—no needed—to tell her, he also dreaded it. He was afraid the anger she seemed to be carrying around internally would increase tenfold. If she was anything like him at all, another pissed off Green teenager was not what the town or the family needed.

"I'm telling you, it's the Midwest." Eric's voice made Jake return his attention to the television screen, where the same loop of people running down a street was still playing. "From the skyline I'm thinking Cincinnati."

"You know, I'm wishing we could read the license plates," Jake commented, taking another swig of his beer.

"Well, let's make Cincinnati a question mark." Mary did as Eric requested, taking a pencil out of her apron pocket and drew a question mark over Cincinnati's location on the map hanging on the wall behind her. After the Chinese broadcast, Jake had found a map of the U.S. in Eric's glove box and gave it to Mary to keep track of the possible targeted cities. Based on what the Chinese had broadcasted and what Mary had circled on the map, Jake could see that many of the places he had resided in the last few years were gone. San Diego and D.C. for sure; New York was still a possibility. His thoughts traveled to his friends, his men, and their families. He wondered what Freddie was doing- if he was even alive- and how his wife Ana was dealing with her pregnancy. He had called Freddie while he was waiting to board his flight in Tokyo. Freddie had told him about his latest job offer that would take him back to Iraq. He had accepted the job on the condition that first he could accompany his wife to her family's house in Texas. He wondered if they ever made it there. He thought about Reilly, McNair and Prescott who had stuck with the original plan to stay in Japan for a few more days.

Jake again sent up a silent prayer of thanks for being allowed to come home early. He could not even imagine the hell the men were going through, being so far away from their families, not even knowing if they were still alive. Jake was grateful, now more than ever, to his boss, for allowing him to miss debriefing- a definite break in protocol- after capturing Kagawa. If O'Neal had made him stay, Jake knew he'd be going insane. Thank God he was able to be here with his family, with El.

"Hey, Jake." Stanley appeared next to him, followed closely by Bonnie. Taking the seat next to Jake, Stanley motioned to Mary for a beer.

"Hey, Stanley, Bonnie," Jake greeted.

"Anything new?" Stanley asked.

"Uh, not since yesterday."

"Shep and Gray should have been back by now," Stanley observed.

"Our radios went silent about fifty miles out," Jake explained, taking another swig of his beer.

Stanley focused his attention on the screen, despite having the entire reel of footage permanently embedded in his brain. "God…makes you wonder whatever happened to whoever shot this."

"I think that might've been the last thing they ever saw." The comment came from the newest citizen of Jericho- Robert Hawkins, a former Saint Louis cop- who happened to be walking past when Stanley commented. Jake glanced over his shoulder as Hawkins passed by; thinking that something about the man bothered him. His professional experience interrogating and bringing to justice master thieves, liars, and just plain corrupt men told him there was more to Hawkins' than what meets the eye. Jake sensed the man was more than just a cop, but he wasn't sure if Hawkins would turn out to be good or bad news for Jericho. He made a silent note to himself to keep an eye on Hawkins

Just then, the lights began to blink, eventually turning off completely. The generator had finally ran out of gas. Gasps, accompanied by a few curses, filled the room. Mary Bailey, frustrated, sighed then began to speak. "Sorry, folks. We're closing early tonight. Take a flashlight it's dark out there."

Stanley couldn't help but complain, even though he knew it was a futile argument. "What? It's only 9:30." In all of the years that he'd been able to drink legally, he had never known Bailey's to close earlier than three a.m. - not even during that freak blizzard of '97 or the night of the memorial service for the Topeka tragedy. Nope, instead, Bailey's had always been a rally point; a place for everyone to gather for information, comfort, a sense of normalcy in an otherwise chaotic world. He quit complaining when Eric urged everyone to clear out. Accompanied by Bonnie, he followed Jake outside.

Outside, Jake saw Heather and Elizabeth walking towards the bar. Heather had abandoned her crutch and was talking with Elizabeth. Looking up, Heather smiled at Jake. "Hey."

"Hey, Heather," Jake replied.

Turning his attention to Elizabeth, he asked, "Do Mom and Dad know you're still out?"

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mom told me this morning I need to be home by ten."

"You should head—"

She interrupted him. "I'm going. Let me just say hi to Bonnie and Stanley first."

Knowing she'd head home shortly, Jake decided to not say anything else. He watched as Elizabeth approached their friends and began talking.

"Is the generator out?"

Jake turned his focus to the blue eyes gazing into his own. "No, outta booze."

That got a laugh out of Heather. "Any more images?"

"No, just the same loop. C'mon, I'll walk you home. Where do you live?"

Heather turned, and pointing with her flashlight, replied, "That way." After taking a few steps, Heather asked, "So, is it weird being home after so long?"

"A little bit. I mean, El kept me up to date with what she thought was important. But, I was surprised to see Bailey's without the mechanical bull. Stanley must've cried when they took that out. He had the record." Looking up Main Street to the spot where he stood a few nights ago spying- yes, he'd admit it, it was spying- on Elizabeth, he noticed what he didn't before. "When did the Pizza Garden become the Cyberjolt Café?"

"Ah, when the health department shut down the Pizza Garden last year," Heather informed him. Glancing at him, she continued, "Don't tell me you liked the Pizza Garden."

"Yeah," Jake confirmed, "I used to work there. Washing dishes." But, it was more than that. The Pizza Garden housed many of his memories. It was the place where he took Emily on their first 'date' when they were fifteen and also where they had their final breakup the week before he left town. It was the place he and Grace had lunch the Saturday afternoon El was conceived. They had held El's ninth birthday there; and so much more.

"You must not have done a very good job," Heather teased. Before Jake could respond, they heard a noise—breaking glass—coming from the alley.

* * *

"C'mon, sweetheart, let's go home." Johnston wrapped his arm around Elizabeth's shoulders and turned her away from the sick man's room. There was a part of him that wanted to stay at the clinic to try to find out more information about the man Jake and Heather had discovered in the pharmacy, but Elizabeth wasn't responding well to being in the man's presence. When they first brought him to the clinic, Elizabeth had been curious and stayed with Bonnie near the window looking into his room, observing. Reality must have set in because Johnston could see she was starting to withdraw inside of her own head. Despite the fact that his job basically dictated he stay at the clinic, satisfying his duties as a parent to Elizabeth were more important. Besides, whatever information Jake could get out of the man, he would find out about it. He needed to be at Elizabeth's side if she wanted to talk.

Elizabeth let herself be led down the hall and out the clinic doors. She was grateful that Dad had noticed her focus and clarity of mind had started to wane. When she had first seen the sick guy in the pharmacy in town, her curiosity had been piqued. Her interest in the man was strictly medical. It was the first time she had seen radiation burns. She was intrigued by them, and couldn't wait to discuss it with April. But, then, after Bonnie commented to Jake that Stanley could have ended up like him, it all changed. Calm gave way to fear; intrigue to panic. Even though she wanted nothing more than to flee from the room, she had found herself unable to move away; so she had been forced to remain in the doorway of his room watching the man struggle to breathe. It really was a relief when Dad wrapped his loving arms around her and led her away.

Once outside, Johnston decided not to say anything. When she was ready, Elizabeth would talk to him. Instead, he left his arm around her shoulder, and hoped she would take that as a gesture of comfort. They walked in silence. Halfway home, Elizabeth finally spoke. "Does it ever get easier?"

"Does what, honey?" Johnston looked down at her.

Slanting her eyes, she explained herself. "Death. Watching people die."

Johnston stopped her with a hand on her arm. He was quiet for a few moments as he searched her eyes with his own. "You've been doing a lot of thinking about that these past few days." Even though it wasn't a question, Elizabeth confirmed his statement with a nod.

"It's just… the car accident and then seeing the bus… I haven't been sleeping very much."

Johnston nodded. "I know, Jake told me he caught you sneaking out."

Elizabeth groaned. "Great," she said sarcastically, "does that mean I'm grounded?"

"Not this time," Johnston replied. Jake had told him how he got Elizabeth to agree to wake him if she needed to leave the house in the middle of the night. If Jake's recent behavior was any indication, Johnston was sure that making Elizabeth deal with an exhausted Jake in the middle of the night could very well be punishment enough. "But, I thought we had talked about this the last time Eric dragged you home. Didn't we agree—"

"Da-ad," she whined.

Two months ago, Eric had caught her hanging out in an alley near Bailey's with her friends at two a.m. That had been only three nights since the last time he dragged her home, and two since Jimmy took her home in his sheriff's car. She had been under restriction then, but staying at home all day with Mom without being able to see her friends had felt so unfair. So, she waited until Mom and Dad were asleep, then had snuck out her bedroom window. The talk that had followed when Eric returned her to the house had been tough. She had promised to be good and stay put during the night, but what Mom and Dad didn't know wouldn't hurt them. Like all the times she had snuck out to be with Jordan. "Yeah, we did agree, but I couldn't help it. Every time I closed my eyes I was back on the bus."

"I get that, sweetheart, I really do. But why didn't you come talk to me, or your mother, or even—"

"Who? Jake?" she scoffed.

He set a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Yes, Jake." With his other hand he directed her face to look at him then continued. "Look, you already told him about Sara and Lauren, so why not tell him everything else?"

'_Because he's seen enough death; he doesn't need to know I've seen it, too.' _"Because he's got enough on his mind, Dad. I don't need to bog him down with something else he couldn't prevent."

Johnston felt torn. Elizabeth would know better than anyone what occupied Jake's thoughts. If they were overwhelming him, she'd be the only one who would know—usually. But since she didn't know that she was the focus of his thoughts, what else could she be referring to and just how bad was it? He was concerned for Jake, especially since whatever Jake had done and seen the last five years made him appear to be carrying around a much heavier burden than ever before. But was that enough to justify Elizabeth's desire to keep Jake in the dark? Was she right? Would it be too much for Jake to handle?

"Well, I really think he needs—and wants—to know. It really isn't fair not to tell him. And, maybe talking to him about it would be more helpful to you. More so, than talking to your mother, me, or Eric. I don't know for sure what Jake was up to when he was gone, but I think I've put enough together to know that most of it wasn't good. I think he'd know how to help you with the PTSD; I have a feeling he's dealt with it himself."

Dad was right, whether she'd admit it or not. She suspected Jake was dealing with some PTSD symptoms. She knew Jake had seen several of his friends deal with the after effects of a traumatic experience. She also knew that Jake himself was occasionally tormented by nightmares, although he had never told her what it was about. "Alright, I'll think about it. Okay?"


	6. Chapter 3B

It had been yet another rough day

It had been another rough day. Earlier that morning, Shep Cale's truck had been discovered, windows broken, key in the ignition, Shep nowhere in sight. Instead, a wallet had been found for a man named Victor Miller: the man with the radiation poisoning, the man who was now dead. Jake had questioned him along with Robert Hawkins, discovering that Victor never laid eyes on Shep. He had found the truck on the side of the road, running, in its current condition, and decided to take it to get help. After further questioning Jake had discovered that Victor's daughter was at Bass Lake along with other people.

Upon hearing Victor's mention of his daughter, Jake's paternal instincts had kicked in. He knew what he had to do. After finally convincing others to accompany him, Jake headed to Bass Lake to rescue Victor Miller's daughter. The sight in front of him immediately propelled his mind back to Iraq and to the first mass grave they had discovered during his first tour. The dozens of people at Bass Lake had radiation burns. The bodies of the Iraqi civilians showed evidence of having been subjected to one of Saddam Hussein's most grotesque torture methods: acid baths. The sight of the naked, abused bodies of the women and children had been especially difficult on Jake and he still found himself suffering from nightmares and flashbacks of that day, even four years later.

Squatting down, he had picked up a doll and his mind traveled to his daughter. He wanted to do nothing more than go home and hug her, never to let go. It wasn't all that long ago - or so it seemed - that Elizabeth carried around a doll, insisting that Jake and Eric play house with her. A queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach overtook him. What if Elizabeth had ended up like Victor's daughter? The thought was too frightening and he forced himself to focus on the situation at hand.

They buried the twenty people in a solemn ceremony. The entire time it had been eerily quiet. Jake hadn't even bothered to try to gauge how Emily, Heather, and the rest of the town members were taking their discovery. He just wanted to finish and head home to spend time with his mother and Elizabeth.

When they finally made it back to town, Jake raced home, where he found Elizabeth in the kitchen helping Mom make dinner. He hugged them both tightly, only letting go when Elizabeth said she couldn't breathe. Elizabeth had looked up at him, recognizing – but not questioning – the look in Jake's eyes. She turned around and continued peeling potatoes. As Gail joined Elizabeth in her efforts, she noted that Jake remained in the kitchen, never taking his eyes off of Elizabeth. Despite the many unknowns regarding Jake in the last few years, one thing remained the same: his immense love for his daughter. Jake may have made a lot of mistakes in his time, but he had never thought of Elizabeth as one of them. He loved her, and in some ways, that made up for all of the stupid things he'd done as a punk kid.

The family ate quickly before heading to the church for a memorial service for the people at Bass Lake. The pews were filled to the max. It had been the first time Jake had entered a church since last Christmas, and even then he had only done so because Elizabeth had asked him to take her to the midnight service.

Now here he found himself, inside the church, Elizabeth and Gail on either side of him as Johnston walked to up to the lectern. Jake was worried about Elizabeth; she hadn't said one word at dinner and his mom had told him she had barely spoken all day. He didn't know how she was handling seeing Victor Miller last night. He'd make it a point to try to talk to her later, if she'd let him.

Johnston reached the podium and began to speak. "Earlier today, we buried 20 people. Refugees from Denver. People we didn't know, but were prepared to welcome into our town. Unfortunately they died of radiation poisoning before we could reach them." He looked around the room, making eye contact with everyone seated before him. "For those people from Denver, and for our own people, for Sheriff Dawes and Deputy Riley. For Deputy Connor and Deputy Salem. For people out there somewhere we know nothing about who might be suffering and dying right now, I ask that we take a moment of silence." After a moments' silence, he continued. "If you've lost a loved one, would you please stand?"

Elizabeth turned in her seat to look towards the back of the church. Looking over his shoulder, Jake saw the Casey family, a few pews back, stand, along with several others scattered throughout the church. Jake did not miss the look that passed between Elizabeth and Jordan; one of concern, compassion, pain, and a little bit of what Jake interpreted as fear. Jordan gave her a small smile of gratitude and she turned back around.

"If someone you love is missing, would you join those standing?" The entire Green family stood, joined by the rest of the congregation. Johnston glanced over at his wife, his thoughts taking him to the same place hers were: to Gail's close cousin Margaret who lived in Lawrence and the rest of her extended family who were scattered across the continent. He looked at Jake, and to his right, Elizabeth and immediately thought about Tim and Cynthia Jacobs, Elizabeth's maternal grandparents, who last he heard had moved to Salt Lake City. Not knowing anything other than Atlanta and Denver were attacked, he wondered if they were still alive. He didn't consider them loved ones and it still upset him the way they had abandoned their pregnant daughter all those years ago, but, because of Elizabeth, he was connected to them and couldn't help but wonder about them.

Elizabeth looked up at Jake, who wrapped his arm around their mother and kissed her on the temple, pulling her closer to him. She wondered how he was dealing with everything. He had probably lost more friends than anyone else in town. If Atlanta and Denver were hit with bombs, it only made sense to her that bigger cities like New York and D.C. were attacked as well. If so, that meant dozens of people Jake had worked and lived with were possibly dead. He was always so willing to comfort everyone else, even when he needed someone to comfort him.

She leaned her head against his arm. He looked down at her and wrapped his arm around her, hugging her close to him, her head resting against his chest. The feeling of knowing that the two people who mattered most to him were safe in his arms, made Jake forget - just for the moment - about the fatigue and tension that had plagued his body these last few days. It made him forget about everything outside of the church, everything going on in the world. All that really mattered was that his family was safe and sound.

Johnston returned his attention to the citizens of his town. "We stand because we know that every life matters. We have to fight for every life. Even when it seems hopeless. Even when we're afraid." His eyes filling with tears for the reality they were all now forced to live in, he continued. "Because the battle ahead isn't just for our survival. It's for our humanity."

The service finished, Johnston moved to rejoin his family but was soon distracted when Reverend O'Shea led him away to talk. The rest of the Green's waited in the pew for the crowd to disperse. Elizabeth slid past Jake and positioned herself by Gail. "Mom, can I go meet up with my friends?" She nodded in the direction of the back of the church, where Michael, Danielle, and Jordan were standing, each one sporting a somber expression. "We kinda need to—" she trailed off when she remembered Jake behind her.

Gail understood Elizabeth's unspoken need; the last time the town had been gathered in a memorial of this kind had been the week following the accident. Elizabeth, her friends, and the other survivors had all attended, each bearing physical injuries of some sort. Gail knew tonight was a reminder of that night, not too long ago. She knew Elizabeth needed to connect with her friends: to talk, to comfort one another, to cry if it came down to it. She nodded. "Three hours; then I want you home. Okay?"

Smiling, Elizabeth thanked her. Then, before pushing her way into the aisle, she hugged her. "I love you, Mom."

"Love you, too, honey." Gail stepped back to let Elizabeth slide past her. Jake reached out his arm and tapped Elizabeth on the shoulder.

"I'd like to talk to you when I get home tonight." Stanley had asked Jake to meet him at Bailey's after the service and he most likely wouldn't be home until after Elizabeth's curfew. He had a lot he needed to discuss with her - moving to the new place with him, Lauren and Sara, Jordan and her other friends - and he had reached the point where he could care less if she was willing to discuss it or not. He needed to know what happened to his daughter during his long absence.

"Sure, Jake. See ya later." She walked down the aisle. _'If I decide I want to talk to you.' _Reaching her friends, they disappeared into the night.

After bidding his parents 'bye', Jake left the church ten minutes later. He was making his way through the crowd of people still standing on the sidewalk in front of the steps when Emily approached him. Placing a quick kiss on his cheek, she said, "You did a good thing today; trying to help people you didn't even know." Then she turned and walked away, leaving Jake momentarily confused. A smile danced across his face. Maybe she was starting to forgive him, finally.

He made his way down the street to Bailey's, spotting Stanley, and, to his surprise, Heather, in a booth in the corner. Signaling to Mary, he motioned for another round of drinks then climbed into the booth next to Heather, flashing a smile as he did.

"Hey, Jake," Stanley greeted. "Today couldn't be a better reason to drink, huh?" he continued, as Mary brought over their drinks.

Taking his, Jake nodded. "Yeah, one hell of a day." Turning to Heather, he asked, "How are you doing?" It had been bad enough for him to see all the bodies at Bass Lake; he couldn't imagine how hard it was for everyone who had never seen a dead body before.

"I'm okay, considering," Heather replied, gazing into his eyes. "I just can't imagine what they all went through. Those kids…" she trailed off, thinking about the bodies of the four young kids they had discovered. Her thoughts traveled to her students, silently sending up a prayer of thanks that none of them had to experience what those kids had.

A hush fell upon the table; each falling victim to their own thoughts. Jake could not imagine what all the parents felt like during their walk from Denver. He'd be able to deal with knowing that he was dying from radiation sickness, but he'd never be able to handle knowing that his kid was dying, too. It had to be every parents' worst nightmare; children were not supposed to die before their parents.

"So, Heather," Jake said, "you've told me how you know Elizabeth, but I still don't know what brought you to Jericho. I don't ever remember seeing you around town before I left." Truth was, he was intrigued by Heather, more so than he'd been by anybody. Her upbeat personality, her smile, how much she cared about others, her friendship with Elizabeth; it all made him want to get to know her better.

Stanley started to laugh. The gleam in Jake's eyes told him that Elizabeth's plan would go easier than expected; Jake hadn't looked at a woman like that since Emily. Stanley stopped when Jake shot him a look. Heather looked at the two guys and asked, "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," Jake growled. "Right, Stanley?"

Stanley coughed. "Uh, yeah, right." Heather looked at the two guys again, finally deciding to just drop it. Before she had a chance to speak up, Stanley checked his watch. "You know what? I forgot that I need to be," he thought for a good excuse, falling short, "somewhere. I'll see you two kids, later, okay?" He scooted out of the booth and stood, waving them both bye. It wasn't lost on either of them that he wasn't in a hurry to leave as he found a group of people to talk to near the pool tables.

"I think we've just been set up," Jake muttered. Stanley had asked him to meet him here after the service and now 'had' somewhere else to be.

"I think so, too," Heather admitted. "He asked me earlier to meet him here for a few drinks."

Jake looked at her, noticing the slight blush that had appeared on her cheeks. "Same here," Jake told her, moving to the other side of the table so he was facing her.

"I think he and Elizabeth might be up to something," Heather told him.

Jake raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why? And, if so, I'm not sure that's a good thing. Those two are incredible schemers by themselves; we're in trouble if they're working together." The two were known for pulling practical jokes on unsuspecting victims. Back before he left town, Jake was their most popular target. One time Jake picked Elizabeth up from Stanley's after a fun day of making caramel apples. Biting into one, Jake got a mouthful of onion. There were other times of exploding shaving cream filled envelopes, whoopee cushions, saran wrapped toilet sets, and other equally harmless jokes.

"Well, yesterday, your sister spent a good portion of the day with me. You were one of the things she kept talking about," Heather informed him. "She kept stressing how good a guy you are and told me that you and I should try to hang out more."

"She did?" Jake asked, before apologizing. "Sorry 'bout that; I'll have a talk with her about it," Jake told her.

"You don't need to be sorry," Heather replied. "Besides, the best way to get back at practical jokers is to give them a taste of their own medicine." A suspicious gleam entered her eyes and Jake's interest peaked.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Ouch! Damn it!" Elizabeth gasped as she climbed the last rung and stepped onto the ledge of the water tower. She leaned against the tower and rubbed her injured leg.

"What's wrong?" Jordan asked as he joined her on the top of the tower. He stepped towards her, taking the backpack off of his shoulders and setting it against the tower. "You okay?"

"Just my stupid leg," she grumbled in return, grimacing. Her leg hadn't bothered her all day but she knew that was only because she'd taken it easy. She should've known climbing to the top of the water tower with her friends would've caused some pain, especially since she had opted to not take her pain killers today.

"You should've listened to me when I said—"

Elizabeth interrupted him. "I know, but we haven't been up here in awhile." When she had suggested that they head to the water tower, Jordan had argued that it wasn't a good idea considering the state of Elizabeth's leg. But, in the end majority had ruled, so he had given in to his friends.

"We could've waited until your leg was fully healed," he argued.

Elizabeth raised her hand to his cheek, directing him to look at her. "This is our escape, Jord, you know that. Besides, it's just a little pain; I'm okay." Noting the concerned expression on his face, she continued, "Really, I am."

Jordan sighed. "Okay. I just don't like to see you hurt."

"I know," she acknowledged. "And, it's really sweet of you." She leaned forward, brushing her lips over his teasingly then pulled away. He took a step closer, pinning her against the side of the water tower, and grinned before bringing his mouth down on hers. Her arms around his neck, she opened her mouth, inviting him to deepen the kiss. He was more than happy to oblige.

"Alright, you two lovebirds. Get a room, will ya?" Jordan and Elizabeth groaned and broke the kiss. Looking past Jordan, Elizabeth saw Michael and Danielle finally stepping onto the platform.

Turning around to face his friends, Jordan returned, "And what exactly took you two so long to start climbing up here?" His friends blushed; Michael tried to come up with something to say but couldn't. "Yeah, that's what I thought." Jordan turned back around and kissed Elizabeth once more, for good measure. He grinned at her, reached for her hand and turned around once again to face his friends. Seeing the blush on their faces, he couldn't resist the temptation to tease them again. "You know, I think I see the beginning of a hickey," he observed, pointing at Danielle's neck.

Self-consciously Danielle's hand went straight to her neck and looked at Michael, glaring softly. "My parents are going to freak if they see it."

"He's kidding," Elizabeth assured her friend. Despite his teasing, Elizabeth knew Jordan was happy for their friends; Mike and Danielle had just recently realized their feelings for each other and had been dating for three weeks. "Besides, even if he's not I know several ways you can cover it up." Jordan snickered, proud of the many love bites he'd left on Elizabeth's neck during the last nine months. Elizabeth dropped his hand, resorting instead to a soft kick to his shin.

"Ow!" Jordan exaggerated, rubbing his leg.

"Serves you right," Elizabeth glared, hands on hips. "I almost didn't get that last one covered. If my Dad or Eric had seen that, you'd've been facing the end of one of their double-barreled shotguns."

He shrugged. "You'd never had told them it was me."

"That's what you think," she disputed. "You've never been on the receiving end of one of their interrogation methods."

"No, I haven't," Jordan agreed. "And maybe you never would be either if you were the good girl you're supposed to be." The teasing smile on his face brought some levity to the conversation. If he knew anything, Jordan knew that Elizabeth hated being told what she was supposed to do, how she was supposed to behave. He knew that while being the mayor's daughter had many perks, it also meant there were more expectations placed upon her. Plus the town biddies were always looking for something - or someone - to gossip about, and many times, the subject of interest was the Green family, especially the Mayor's youngest child. Elizabeth was a lot like her oldest brother - whether she admitted it or not - and it seemed like everyone in town was waiting for her to screw up as badly as Jake had when he was a teenager

"You like that I'm not a 'good girl'," Elizabeth noted, dropping her arms to her side and taking one step closer to him. They stared at each other across the ten inch space that separated them. If Grandpa Green were still alive and could see them now, he'd call it 'eye-flirting'; she remembered him using that term several times with both Jake and Emily and April and Eric. _'I wish Grandpa was here. He liked Jordan; he understood me.' _Grandpa had helped her throughout the duration of her recovery period, and he had been one of the few people who had been able to help her deal with the immediate PTSD symptoms she had experienced in the weeks and months following the accident. When he died, much of the progress that she'd made died with him; she'd lost her sense of her security, her safety net, a major source of comfort. His death only six months ago had triggered her anger; it was the catalyst for much of her negative behavior. She hadn't been prepared for his death; she'd already lost so many people close to her, she was angry that he'd been taken away from her, too.

"If you two want to flirt you could choose a more traditional way to do it," Michael said, rolling his eyes only so Danielle could see him. Danielle smirked. Usually Jordan and Elizabeth were respectful of their friends, but sometimes they made her feel like she was around a newlywed couple; they were hot and heavy and sometimes found it difficult to restrain themselves. Normally she'd join in on teasing her friends, but tonight she opted to not.

"Did you guys bring everything?" Danielle's question was directed towards the boys. Leaving the church, they had split up; the boys headed to their respective houses to gather what they would need for the evening, the girls had headed directly to the tower, waiting at the bottom for the boys.

Reluctantly breaking eye contact, Jordan replied, "Yeah, I have the blankets." He squatted in front of his bag and opened it, pulling out several fleece blankets. It really wasn't that cold, but the girls claimed to get cold easily, which was fine with him. It gave him an opportunity to snuggle up with Elizabeth.

"And, I've got the beer," Michael added, removing his bag from his shoulder. "'Though, I could only manage to steal two without my dad noticing."

The two couples got situated; Jordan sitting with his back against the cold metal of the water tower, Elizabeth between his legs, her back pressed against his chest. Jordan situated a University of Kansas blanket over their legs. Michael and Danielle seated themselves similarly. Opening his bag, Michael took out two bottles of beer, passing one to Jordan, keeping the other for himself. They sat in silence, the couples sharing the contents of the bottles. When she had taken her last gulp, Elizabeth handed the bottle to Jordan, then slipped her arms under the blanket to warm them, shivering slightly as she did so. Jordan finished the last of the beer and set the bottle aside. He took off his jacket and draped it around Elizabeth's shoulders. He grabbed another blanket - this one sporting the St. Louis Cardinals logo - and wrapped it around his shoulders. Wrapping his arms around Elizabeth's middle, he hugged her closer to him, bringing the ends of the blanket to meet in front of them. "Any better?" he whispered, leaning forward so his mouth was grazing her ear.

She nodded. "Yeah; thanks." She turned her head and placed a quick, gentle kiss on his lips. She then settled back against him and the four teenagers turned their focus to the night sky. It wouldn't be long, they knew, that they'd begin talking about everything on their minds, but until then they'd just take comfort in each other's presence.

"Nice place you have here," Jake complimented. After talking with Heather for awhile at Bailey's, he had offered to walk her home. During the walk to the corner of Twelfth and Berce, Jake had found out more about Heather. Born and raised in New Bern, Heather moved to Jericho just over three years ago after receiving her teaching degree from the University of Kansas. She was a single child, daughter of a preacher father and schoolteacher mother, both of whom died in a car accident only a week after Heather's high school graduation.

Heather, the sole survivor of the three car accident, and recipient of a full-ride academic scholarship, delayed going to college for a year, opting instead to move to New Jersey and volunteering in the inner city of Newark. The experience toughened her up and opened her eyes to the world outside of her sheltered life. She overcame her grief. It instilled in her a passion for becoming an educator. She enrolled in school the following year and slowly found herself drifting further and further away from the place of her birth. She was destined to move on and that, as Heather put it, was what brought her to Jericho. She was now far enough away that she wouldn't have a daily reminder of the place her parents died, but close enough to occasionally meet up with the few friends she still had there.

"Thanks," Heather replied from over her shoulder as she stepped into the kitchen. "It's small but affordable. Plus, it's just me so it's all the space I need." Stepping back out of the kitchen, she handed Jake a bottle of water. Setting her own bottle down on the table, she excused herself and headed down the hallway towards the bathroom.

Opening his bottle, Jake was drawn to a series of framed photographs resting on the bookshelf. He crossed the room and examined the first picture. It showed a young girl standing with her parents in front of a building Jake recognized as the church in New Bern. He looked at the remaining photographs, noting one in particular that was unlike the others in that it did not show Heather with one or both of her parents. Instead, it showed a man with his arms wrapped around Heather, a boyfriend maybe? It really wasn't any of his business but he did wonder if Heather was in a relationship with anyone. Neither Stanley nor Elizabeth had mentioned one and, for that matter, neither did Heather.

Hearing Heather returning, he turned away from the bookshelf to face her. "You look just like her. Your mom."

"You think so?" she asked. "Most people say I look like my dad."

"It's your eyes," he told her. "You have her eyes and her smile. But mostly it's your eyes."

"Thanks. I always thought so, too." She sat down on the couch, putting her feet up on the matching ottoman. "So, Jake, I've told you a little about me. Now you have to tell me about you."

"Not much to tell," he replied, sitting down in the chair across from her.

Realizing he wasn't going to say anything more, she prompted, "C'mon, there has to be something."

Jake shrugged. "Not much. My Dad's been Mayor since I was seven. It was always hoped I'd follow in his footsteps but I was far from being a stellar citizen of this town. Had a few different jobs after high school but nothing really stuck with me until I was well into my twenties. I was offered a great job opportunity five years ago, took it, and didn't come home again until a few days ago. Like I said, not much to tell."

Heather looked at him curiously. "I've heard a few stories about your troublemaking days from Stanley. And I also heard that you – what was it he said? – 'cleaned up your act' before your sister was born."

"Stanley talks to you about me?"

"Not really. Only during the few times we've talked about Elizabeth," she answered. "He'd never admit it but I think he missed her when she was away visiting you. He missed you too, always wondering what you were up to."

Jake nodded, feeling a little better about Stanley talking about him. "Yeah, Stanley's family. El's like another sister to him. And, yes, I did straighten myself out before El was born."

Heather eyed him. He obviously didn't like talking about himself, but she couldn't deny that she was mesmerized by him. He exuded a sense of mystery, his dark eyes had a shadowed look to them as if he couldn't let go of some grim moment from the past. His shoulders were tense, like he were carrying too large of a burden. But his smile took away the seriousness of his features. The same way he seemed to relax whenever his mother and sister were nearby. Emily had mentioned him a time or two, always stressing the secrecy under which Jake operated. Now here he was, sitting in her living room, and he certainly was mysterious! "I think there's a lot more to you than that, but for now let's call it even. Maybe you can tell me more later."

Jake smiled. "Maybe." He stood up. "I'm going to head home. Make sure you lock up when I leave. Just in case we get anymore surprise visitors."

"I'm bringing your jacket back to you," Elizabeth said, approaching the guys and handing Jordan his jacket. Turning her attention to Mike, she told him: "Danielle wants me to tell you she needs you to warm her up," only altering Danielle's real words slightly. Mike grinned, a slight blush making its way to his cheeks, then he walked to the other side of the tower.

"You sure you're warm enough?" Jordan asked, offering his jacket to her again as he turned away from the railing and faced her.

She nodded. "I think I'll be okay," she told him, before grinning and adding, "as long as you help keep me warm."

"I think I can do that," he returned, putting his jacket on. He reached for her hand and began to lead her back toward their friends. "C'mon."

She tugged on his hand, stopping him. He turned to look at her. "Let's give them some privacy," she said.

"Them or us?" he asked, a smirk finding its way to his face.

"Both." She barely had time to reply before Jordan cupped her cheeks and brought his mouth closer to hers. He pulled back, though, before ever making contact.

"You've been crying," he observed, looking deep into her eyes. Her unnecessary nod confirmed it. He wrapped his arms around her in a hug. She slid her arms inside his jacket and around him, completing the hug. She laid her head against his chest, her head fitting perfectly under his chin.

Twenty minutes earlier, the group had split up with the boys heading to the opposite side of the tower. In the days and weeks immediately following the accident, the four teenagers had grieved and cried openly with one another, but over the years they had developed different ways of dealing with their pain. Michael and Danielle were more private with their emotions, whereas Jordan and Elizabeth were more open with theirs. At least when it came to their friends.

The girls spent the time talking and crying about the memorial service for the accident victims. The memories were so vivid in the minds of both girls and tonight's service didn't help any. Elizabeth wondered aloud about Sara and Lauren, what they'd be like today, if Sara would be on the soccer team, if Lauren would be on the debate team, if they would have boyfriends. Danielle, in turn, thought about her best friend Melissa, who also perished in the accident. They both still missed their friends so very much, but both were also very grateful for their friendship with each other. Had the accident never happened, the two would most likely not be anything more than classmates.

"You okay?"

Jordan's question broke her out of her reverie. "I am now. You?"

"Yeah, I'm good." He tightened his grip on her and sighed.

Dislodging her head from under his, she looked up at him. "What?"

Shaking his head, he answered, "Mike's not. I mean, with the accident he is. But not with the bombs. He just – I don't know, you know how he is."

She nodded. "Avoiding talking about it and denying his fear? Danielle, too. It's how they deal. Just like us in a way."

"No, you and I are different. The only person you avoid talking to is Jake. We talk to each other. That's more than they do," Jordan corrected. Kissing her on the forehead, he continued, "I'm just really happy we can talk about things."

"Me too," Elizabeth agreed, sighing and taking a step back. "I think you should walk me home now. It's time I stop avoiding Jake."

"Hi, honey," Gail said as Elizabeth closed the front door behind her. Gail checked her watch. _'Forty-five minutes to spare.'_

"Hey, mom," Elizabeth replied, hanging her jacket up in the closet. "Yeah, I'm home on time," she said when she caught Gail looking at her watch. "Surprising, isn't it?"

Gail gave into a laugh. "Yes, it is. I was expecting to have to send Jake back out to look for you."

"Jake's home already?"

"For about an hour now," Gail told her as Johnston joined them on his way to the living room.

"Hi, sweetheart," he said when they joined him. "You're home early."

"Hi, Dad," Elizabeth answered. "Yeah, I came home to talk to Jake."

Gail and Johnston gave each other surprised looks. As adamant as Elizabeth had been about not wanting to Jake, they had not expected her to have a change of heart so soon after his return to town.

Johnston responded first. "That's great, honey. I'm glad to hear that."

Shrugging, Elizabeth said, "Yeah, we'll see." Glancing upstairs, she continued, "I'll let you know it goes later, okay?"


	7. Chapter 3C

Heading up the stairs to Jake's room, Elizabeth tried to control her breathing. What she was getting ready to do was going to be difficult, and she hoped it wouldn't bring about another panic attack. She always knew the time would come to tell Jake what happened on the way back from the field trip to Topeka four years ago, but no amount of time could make this story easier to tell.

Taking a few breaths to calm herself, she knocked on Jake's closed door. She waited a few seconds. Then the door opened.

"Hey, El," Jake greeted cheerily.

"Hey," she returned, stepping into the room. _'Sorry to ruin your good mood.' _Turning around to face him, she asked, "Can we talk?"

Nodding, he said, "Of course." He closed the door. Then seeing Elizabeth sitting on the edge of his bed, he made his way over to the window. Leaning back against the windowsill, he faced her. "What do you want to talk about?"

Taking another deep breath, Elizabeth looked up at him. "About why I blanked out after the car accident. About how Sara and Lauren died."

Jake felt some relief knowing that he was finally going to get answers to some of the questions that had plagued his mind since the day he returned home. At the same time, he sensed that this was not going to be an easy conversation – for him or Elizabeth – and that worried him. "Okay, El."

Moving so her back was against the headboard, she took a few moments for herself. She needed to gain as much composure as was possible for this. She needed to prepare herself to relive the worst night of her life. "We had just boarded the bus right outside of Topeka and were heading toward the interstate. It was raining really hard. Ms. DeVanzo had just put a movie on – _Brian's Song_ – when the bus swerved. Then it started to roll. The last thing I remember before everything went black was glass breaking."

_She woke to the sound of a horn blaring, unsure of the time or where she was. She tried to move, but pain surged through her body. Staying put, she tried to get her bearings. Slowly her sense of hearing became more acute. The rain was a thunderous roar. She heard crying nearby and shouting in the distance. Then her other senses came slowly back to her. She was cold. And wet. There was a metallic taste in her mouth. Blood. Her eyes found a dim light on the ground a few feet from her, watching it flicker. Then her world went black. _

_When she woke up again, her eyes could discern a spotlight in addition to several blue and red flashing lights. The crying was louder this time and there was more of it. Someone was yelling for help, saying he didn't want to die. She realized she was lying on a floor, seats suspended above and around her. That's when she remembered what happened._

Jake's breath caught in his throat. He already knew he was going to be heart-sick by what Elizabeth had yet to tell him. He went over to the bed, sat down next to her and grabbed one of her hands. He began to run his thumb back and forth over the back of her hand.

"_Liz? Elizabeth!" The panicked voice came somewhere from her left. She managed to turn her head slightly, and without causing too much pain, to spit out some blood. She turned her head a little more to see her friend Lauren lying with one leg bent in an awkward position, hands clasped tightly over her abdomen, face cut and bloody. _

"_Lauren," Elizabeth said, wincing at the sharp pain in her ribs. "Are you-" she painfully started. "Are you okay? Where's Sara?"_

_She watched as tears began to fill her friend's eyes. "We're going to die! We're going to die! She's dead and now we're going to die, too!" she screamed, starting to sob. _

_A taste of bile filled Elizabeth's mouth, overpowering the taste of copper. 'Sara's dead? She can't be.' Looking around as much as her injured body would allow her, her eyes fell upon a hand, no more than two feet away, peeking out from underneath jackets and backpacks in the aisle, sporting a friendship bracelet that matched the one on Elizabeth's own wrist. "Sara!"_

_She continued to shout her friend's name, forcing herself to not match her other friends' cries. Not satisfied, she willed herself to move her arm, sucking in her breath from the pain as she did so. Desperately, achingly, and far too slowly did her fingers finally find her friend's. They were Sara's, yet they weren't. Sara's long slender fingers – piano fingers – were always warm; these were cold, ice cold. With one last hope, Elizabeth pulled the hand towards her, hurting herself further in the process. _

"I held onto her hand the whole time, clutching it to my chest. I couldn't understand how her hand was inside the bus while the rest of her body was lying outside in a pool of blood. She was dead, but the only thing I could think of was how I'd never get to see her fingers dance over the piano keys again. She was dead." Her voice quivering, she looked up at Jake, seeing tear-filled eyes that matched her own. Even though she knew she was safe in the house where she was raised, a huge part of her felt as if she were still on that bus, still holding onto Sara's hand, still screaming periodically to the paramedics outside.

Jake gave into the tears, pained at what he was hearing. He knew from experience that words did little to make the memories less painful. He just told Elizabeth that she was safe now. He continued to rub her hand, all the while feeling absolutely helpless. He was shocked. He never imagined the accident was so horrific or that Elizabeth would come face-to-face with death in the way she had. And at such a young age! He was angry, too. Angry that his mother hadn't told him more about the accident. Angry that he hadn't been told his daughter's best friends had perished. Angry that in all the time since then, Elizabeth herself hadn't told him. He hugged her close, hoping the rhythm of his heartbeat would help her relax a little, like it had in the storm cellar only a few days ago.

_The realization of what was happening finally hit her. Her thoughts kept taking her to her family. To Mom and Dad. To Grandpa. To Eric and April. Stanley and Bonnie. To Jake, who was somewhere in an Iraqi desert. She couldn't remember if she told them she loved them before she left for the field trip. She hoped she had. If she was supposed to die tonight, she prayed that God gave her family peace and comfort. She prayed that she'd see them again. She prayed for Sara. Elizabeth didn't ask God to spare her own life, only that He'd be with all of them throughout the duration of this tragedy._

_Later – she wasn't sure how long – Elizabeth, now armed with the strength she needed, returned her attention to her other best friend. She didn't know anything that was happening with the rescue; she could hear shouts in the background but she couldn't focus on anything other than herself and Lauren. Her throat raw, she yelled again at the rescuers outside, telling them their location on the bus, pleading for them to hurry. _

_Turning her attention back to her friend, Elizabeth reassured, "We're going to be okay, Lauren," hoping her voice didn't betray her fear. "We're not going to die." When her friend didn't answer, she screamed, "Lauren! Don't fall asleep on me! LAUREN!!" _

_Her friend still didn't answer and yet Elizabeth did not allow herself to cry. She wouldn't cry until this was over, if she lived to see the end of it. She just held onto Sara's severed hand and told herself that Lauren would be okay. Minutes later, Lauren finally spoke, Elizabeth hearing her clearly despite it barely being above whisper. _

"_Tell my parents I love them. And tell Amy – "_

"_Stop!" Elizabeth told her, panic making her way into her voice. "You can tell them that yourself when we get out of here."_

"_Please, just promise to tell them," Lauren pleaded, groaning in pain. "'Cuz I'm not going to be okay." Her breathing grew shallow. Her eyes closed._

"_LAUREN!" _

_Lauren slowly opened her eyes. "Please, Lizzie. Promise me."_

_Elizabeth swallowed the huge lump in her throat. "I promise," she whispered, tears threatening to fall, and reached across the floor, offering Lauren her hand. _

_Lauren grabbed a hold of Elizabeth's hand with her own. "Tell Amy she's a good sister. And you and Sara are good friends, the best." _

"She died, too, Jake." Elizabeth looked up at Jake again, tears making their way down her face. "She was talking to me, making sure I knew that I was a good friend and that she loved me. Then all of a sudden she wasn't."

_It wasn't until much later, after the cries were reduced to whimpering and most of the students were pulled out of the wreckage and taken to hospitals, when only she and two others were still alive inside, that Elizabeth felt the sticky substance between their joined hands. The second spotlight that had been brought in allowed her to see with perfect clarity that the substance was blood. It wouldn't be until months later that Elizabeth would finally tell her therapist where that blood came from. The source of that blood would still haunt her dreams years later. _

"Someone outside kept yelling at us, telling us to hold on, that they were going to get us out. I wanted to believe them but I kept waiting. We all kept waiting," Elizabeth told Jake, leaning into him, taking comfort from the touch of his hand on her shoulder as he hugged her to him. All she knew was that as painful as this was, she felt great relief at letting go of the burden she'd chosen to keep from him for four years. She rested her head against his chest again, listening to the beat of his heart. Somehow it calmed her a little bit.

Catching her breath, Elizabeth continued. "By the time they got to me, Peter and Jason had both died." She was silent for a few moments, using the sleeve of her t-shirt to wipe her face. "The next thing I remember is waking up to Mom's voice at the hospital. The whole family was there, even Aunt Margaret and Uncle Ben. Everyone, that is –"

"Except for me," Jake finished for her. "The whole family was there except me."

"Well, yeah," Elizabeth agreed. "But it's okay. If you could, you would've been there. Besides, all I did was sleep. When I wasn't getting looked at by the doctors and nurses or talking to the counselors. It wasn't much fun."

Jake frowned. "Stuff like that's not supposed to be fun, El. It's a serious matter."

"I know, Jake." Elizabeth sighed. "I know it's serious. I think about it every day. I was just trying to make you not feel bad."

"I do feel bad, El," he replied. _'I should've been there for you. I let you down.' _He kissed her on the top of the head. "I should've been there, but I never knew how bad it was."

Elizabeth pulled away from him, sensing his tenseness. "You're mad."

Jake denied it. "No. I just don't get why Mom never told me anything more than you were going to miss school for a few days. She could've told me," he said, before muttering under his breath, "She _should've_ told me."

"I asked her not to."

Jake's eyes widened. "What? Why would you do something like that?" he asked. He stood up and moved around the room, stopping near the window. _'Why would Mom agree to something like that?'_

"You were in Iraq," she said, "getting shot at." She shook her head. "I didn't want to be the distraction that got you killed. I _couldn't _be the distraction that got you killed. I love you. Your safety was more important than what I was going through."

Jake's breath caught in his throat. It wasn't her admission that she had known where his job had taken him, but rather her selflessness. As much as she was his daughter, she was equally her mother's, thank God. At twelve, Jake had been one of the most selfish people to ever walk this earth, vandalizing anything he came across: cars, homes, the library and schools. He even vandalized many of his father's campaign signs, not caring if it had a negative effect on the election or not. He didn't care about anyone's well-being but his own, regardless of who he hurt in the process. But Grace had always been the kid who cared more about everyone else than herself, who always offered to help others, who went out of her way to do good deeds for others, just because she felt like it was the right thing to do. Jake was grateful every day that Elizabeth had taken after her mother in that regard.

"Don't be mad that we didn't tell you. Okay, Jake?"

Jake sighed. "Okay, I understand why you didn't tell me then. But what about in San Diego? I wasn't in Iraq anymore. What about that nightmare? Is this what it was about?"

"I know," Elizabeth acknowledged. "And I was going to tell you, but then Freddie came over that one night to talk to you about the offer you both received. I know I wasn't supposed to eavesdrop, but I did. Then the next morning you told me you were going back over there." She wrapped her arms around herself, hugging her knees to her chest. "And, yes, that's what the nightmare was about. The one in New York, too."

"Why didn't you tell me, El?" Jake asked as he made his way back to the bed. Sitting on the edge next to her, he continued, "I could've helped you. We could have talked about it."

She shrugged her shoulders, not looking at him. They sat in silence for a few moments, until Elizabeth quietly asked, "They're gone, too, aren't they, Jake? Aunt Margaret and Uncle Ben?" They were technically Mom's cousins, but for as long as she could remember, they'd been referred to as her aunt and uncle. Memories of summer days spent visiting them in Lawrence and Christmases spent with them here in Jericho came flooding back to her. Sniffling, she continued, "They're all gone."

Jake sighed, tucking Elizabeth's hair behind her ear, like he had when she was a child. "I don't know, El." Truth be told, he hadn't really thought about Margaret and Ben or their children. Sure, he'd thought about the outside world – how many people had died, how the towns closest to Jericho were faring, how many other bombs there were – but his focus over the last few days had been his immediate family. After being absent for five years, now more than ever, he felt he owed it to them to keep them safe. "No one knows much about what happened. Lawrence could be going through the same thing we are right now. Once we figure out what's going on we'll be able to try contacting them."

Looking up at him, Elizabeth asked, "When the government figures out who's responsible for the bombs, are you going to have to go back to work?"

He shook his head. "No, I handed in my resignation, remember? Japan was my last assignment."

She nodded. "Yeah, but you were supposed to come home after Iraq but went to Tokyo instead." She stood up, pulling back the comforter then climbed underneath, covering her legs with it as she sat down, adjusting the pillow behind her back.

"You mad at me for that? For not coming home?"

Elizabeth shook her head as she yawned. "No." She shrugged. "You're good at what you do, you keep people safe, you work well with your team. You have an important job."

"But…" Jake prompted, knowing there was more she wasn't saying.

Elizabeth grinned, one that matched his own, then shook her head. "Can't get anything past you, can I?"

"El…"

"But I want you to be safe, too," she answered him. "Your job requires a lot of responsibility on your part but you also have a responsibility to our family. We all have a responsibility to this family. We need to look out for each other and keep each other safe. Just 'cuz you were gone doesn't mean that changed. We needed you before you left, we needed you when you were gone, and we need you now. We need you safe."

"I'm not going anywhere," he told her, reassuring himself just as much as her. "I'm not going anywhere, El," he repeated. "I'm never going to leave you, any of you, again. I promise." He just prayed he'd be able to keep his promise this time.

They sat in silence for awhile, each lost in their own thoughts. Jake found himself thinking about everything Elizabeth had just told him. Again, he felt guilty for being gone, for giving his daughter a reason to not talk to him, to not seek him out when she was in need. Had he been in town he probably would have been chaperoning the field trip, as he had so many others. Would that have made a difference? Would he have been able to help those other kids the paramedics couldn't reach? _'No use for 'what if's', Jake. Only makes you miserable. Besides, you would have been trapped, too. You weren't around afterwards so be there now. She still needs you.' _

"So, El, I know it's not easy to talk about but…"

Laying her head on his shoulder, she interrupted. "Go ahead and ask. I think I'm okay, right now. Other than being cold."

Jake got up and walked to his dresser. Opening a drawer, he pulled out a hooded sweatshirt. He walked back to the bed. Sitting down again, he handed it to Elizabeth.

"Thanks," she told him, pulling the sweatshirt on over her head. Tracing her finger over the lettering, she looked at him and smiled. "Haven't worn one of your shirts since I visited you there." The I New York hoodie had been a gift from Jake's boss. Wanting his employees to "play the role," Jack Murphy had purchased twelve of the tourist items so the team could "blend in" during their recon missions throughout the city. Jake hadn't had much use for it after that, but it had been a nice reminder of El's visit the previous winter. "So, what do you wanna know?"

Staring into eyes that looked nothing like his, he answered, "Well, I know about your broken arm. But based on everyone else's injuries, it would make sense to me if you had more."

Elizabeth licked her lips and nodded. "Yeah. One of my ribs was fractured, I had a concussion, and a piece of metal was embedded in my back."

Jake didn't – couldn't – respond. In his mind, images flashed of Elizabeth – his little girl- lying in a pool of blood, unconscious, in the wreckage of a yellow school bus. He could see her arm bent at an impossible angle, a piece of shrapnel piercing her skin, blood pouring from the wound. A chill ran through his body as he saw her surrounded by other bodies, other children, also covered in blood, eyes lifeless.

"Jake," he heard someone say. Then again he heard his name accompanied by an elbow to the ribs. Shaking his head to clear it, he looked to his left to see Elizabeth staring at him, concern written in her expression.

"You okay? You look more scared than Mom and Dad did that night."

Jake didn't answer.

"I'm okay, Jake."


End file.
